Delicate, Yet Shamelessly Freeloading [Quick Transmigration] Chapter 46

Chapter 46: The Blind Widower in the Infinite Game (13)

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Xie Qian wasn’t the main brain—he could only control the body when the tentacles were tired or willing.

 

So this time, the tentacle very flexibly placed itself in Shui Que’s hand.

 

It even curled and twitched its suction cups, almost like a puppy licking someone’s palm, clinging affectionately.

 

Looks like it really understood what “shake hands” meant.

 

Shui Que thought.

 

His other hand patted the surface of the tentacle and blurted out instinctively, “Good boy.”

 

Wait no… that sounded exactly like how he trained Coalball…

 

Shui Que frowned with a bit of frustration. He was still trying to test the sea monster’s intelligence. “What’s your name?”

 

Tilting his head slightly, his misty tea-colored eyes looked forward. His instincts told him the sea monster’s true body must be hidden in the deepest, darkest corner.

 

There was no response for now.

 

Maybe it really couldn’t speak any other words.

 

He nervously squeezed the tentacle in his palm.

 

Xie Qian had been hesitating whether to confess to Shui Que that he was currently trapped in this monster’s body, but seeing Shui Que’s troubled expression, all hesitation vanished.

 

The mass of tentacles wriggled and parted, opening a path.

 

Where Shui Que stood, the evening sunlight happened to stream in, casting golden light across the nest’s floor like a soft carpet. The monster stepped from the dim corner into the light.

 

Its upper body was still humanoid—among humans, it would be considered a strong, youthful figure, as if the sea itself had molded bronze skin and smooth muscles over a sturdy frame, like the thick ropes wound tightly on a great ship.

 

From the waist down, however, were layers upon layers of thick, terrifying tentacles.

 

Shui Que could see the dark shadow approaching him.

 

Fortunately… it wasn’t a full octopus after all.

 

He let out a breath of relief.

 

He waved at the humanoid shadow, coaxing like calling a pet, and patted the ground in front of him. “Come here.”

 

The shadow silently stepped forward and knelt down.

 

Shui Que lifted both hands and gently held the creature’s face, his soft fingertips slowly tracing the features.

 

Deep brow ridges, sunken eye sockets, and a high nose bridge.

 

Aside from the cold, moist skin, it wasn’t much different from a human—perhaps even matching the general human standards of attractiveness.

 

Good, not completely inhuman.

 

Shui Que felt relieved.

 

If he wasn’t visually impaired in this small world, he would’ve noticed right away that this face resembled his ghost-married partner by at least sixty percent.

 

The remaining forty percent resembled Yuan Zhou.

 

His thumb unintentionally brushed over the other’s tightly pressed, cold, thin lips.

 

Suddenly, two tentacles struck like lightning, clamping around his waist like iron rings. The previously quiet monster lowered its head and wrapped its arms around his shoulders.

 

Like a dog that couldn’t help itself, it buried into the crook of Shui Que’s neck, nose tip sniffing and rubbing against him softly.

 

Xie Qian couldn’t hold it in anymore—the monster, who had long struggled to speak, finally rasped out, “Shui Shui… missed you so much.”

 

Shui Que’s eyes widened the moment he heard that voice, “X-Xie Qian?!”

 

Wait, something’s not right. According to the plot, didn’t Xie Qian go into the S-class instance alone and get betrayed and killed by Chu Jingting?

 

How could the big villain not only be alive but also show up inside this instance?

 

Shui Que didn’t mean to curse Xie Qian dead—just that if he hadn’t died, it probably meant the small world’s plot had collapsed…

 

Xie Qian’s eyes lit up.

 

Even though both his appearance and voice had changed, Shui Que still recognized him from the first sentence.

T

he villain who had crawled back from the gates of hell and finally reunited with his little boyfriend couldn’t hide his joy.

 

He nudged Shui Que’s cheek and opened his mouth to bite.

 

But because the monster’s teeth were all sharp, canine-like fangs, he was very cautious and only dared to gently gnaw, more like nibbling a kiss with cheek meat caught between his lips.

 

His rough tongue, with tiny hidden barbs, scraped Shui Que’s cheek until it tingled.

 

Held tightly by Xie Qian, the half-human body was nearly twice Shui Que’s size, leaving him with no way to escape. He could only turn his head. “Stop—stop biting…”

 

【Holy crap, Ex-husband bro? No.1? You’re not dead?!】

 

【Oh my god, soul return arc…】

 

【But ex-husband bro, me and sister-in-law truly love each other. A love triangle is just too crowded. You should back off now (points fingers)】

 

【So, Crab Claws, where did you go for training? This body… even better than before…】

 

【These arms… are literally crab claws now. Sorry, bad mom just wants to watch ex-husband bro find out that while he was gone, his wife lured in tons of new dogs, and then go nuts with jealousy, tying Shui Shui up with his tentacles and doing very that…】

 

“You look beautiful today in your wedding clothes,” Xie Qian held him tight. “You remind me of when we first met.”

 

Because of their ghost marriage, Xie Qian’s soul had once briefly returned to the real world.

 

At that time, he floated in the air and saw the little bride inside the sedan.

 

Since it was a boy, his head wasn’t covered, and he sat there obediently, with a faint sickly look on his face as if just recovering from illness.

 

He looked so small—just came of age and already getting married?

 

Xie Qian had stared at him, just like now in the sedan, reaching out to hold his hand.

 

Shui Que lowered his eyes, his long, butterfly-like lashes folding gently as he asked in a small voice, “Didn’t you… didn’t you not want me anymore?”

 

He had actually wanted to ask whether Xie Qian had died, but that felt a bit too heartless.

 

So Shui Que carefully chose his words.

 

“Who told you that?” Xie Qian was eager to explain. “How could I possibly leave you behind?”

 

He recalled how everything had unfolded and let out a cold laugh—but not aimed at Shui Que.

 

He didn’t explain directly how he had ended up half-human and half-monster. Instead, he said, “You have to be careful with Chu Jingting.”

 

“The moment I saw him, I knew that guy wasn’t any good,” Xie Qian said bitterly.

 

He just hadn’t expected Chu Jingting to be so reckless—diving into higher-level instances way beyond his ability, growing stronger at a crazy pace. Xie Qian let his guard down once and got ambushed in the instance, missing the window to exit.

 

Even though he had signed some unfair contracts with the infinite game, at least he’d managed to get out.

 

Xie Qian said, “That guy is full of schemes. He definitely came into this instance just to mess with you.”

 

Shui Que: “Mhm, mhm.”

 

It was definitely revenge. Maybe teaming up on quests was just a way to get close and find a chance to strike.

 

“How did you become like this?” Shui Que poked at Xie Qian’s arm.

 

But before he could get an answer—

 

The monster began again, “Bo—bo—”

 

This time, it sounded very happy.

 

Because it could be close to its little mate, it pulled their already close bodies even tighter, its muscular form locking Shui Que in like chains.

 

Shui Que tried to push its face away, but it wouldn’t budge.

 

“…..”

 

Alright then, looks like it had gone back to being the uncommunicative sea monster.

 

So, Xie Qian was sharing a body with this sea monster?

 

His brows furrowed deeply.

 

＊

 

Shui Que realized that, in a way, this sea monster was actually quite obedient.

 

As long as it could understand what he was saying.

 

In this stretch of open sea, there were often large fish swimming around at depths of 1,500 meters.

 

At night, the sea monster brought back a swordfish that weighed at least 50 kilograms.

 

The fish was far too big. Shui Que not only had to explain that he couldn’t eat raw food directly, but also had to clarify—after slicing off just a small piece to cook—that he truly couldn’t eat 50 kilograms of fish in one meal.

 

In the end, the sea monster ended up eating most of the swordfish.

 

The next morning, it brought him back a coconut.

 

“Thank you…” Shui Que accepted it, “but I can’t open it by myself.”

 

The sea monster tilted its head, then understood what he meant. It grabbed a stone from the seafloor and smashed the coconut open.

 

Shui Que approached and tentatively asked, “Can you take me back? I want to return to the island.”

 

He tried to convey his intentions clearly.

 

This time, the sea monster didn’t tilt its head. It didn’t react at all.

 

So now it pretended not to understand?

 

Frustrated, Shui Que gave one of its tentacles a pinch.

 

It seemed to understand he was angry, but still chose to keep pretending, lowering its body in a placating gesture and pressing its face affectionately against Shui Que’s cheek.

 

Shui Que ignored it.

 

Now that he was trapped here, he couldn’t progress the plot nor follow the main quest of the instance.

 

He had no idea what his teammates were going through on Thousand Smoke Island. The main quest had already reached its third phase:

 

[Search for the Thousand Smoke.]

 

The Thousand Smoke was a cargo ship that went to sea ten years ago and never returned. It had been discovered listed in the lighthouse’s ship registry.

 

But where would a ship that went missing ten years ago be?

 

Did it even still exist?

 

The tentacle sensed his gloominess and plucked a sea anemone from the ocean floor to bring back.

 

Shui Que: “……”

 

Did this count as giving flowers?

 

He poked the sea monster. “Do you know the Thousand Smoke?”

 

It was a true native of the ocean—surely, it would know about ships coming and going. Besides, it might even be the very sea god known as Wubao worshipped by the people of Thousand Smoke Island.

 

“Bo?” It didn’t understand.

 

Well, of course. It could barely comprehend human language, let alone distinguish one ship from another in the endless traffic of the sea.

 

Shui Que gave up trying to communicate and returned to the nest to catch some more sleep.

 

By noon, the crackling sound of firewood burning woke him up. The air inside the damp cave was thick with the aroma of grilled fish.

 

It was time for another “sleep and eat” cycle.

 

Shui Que sat up and realized he was sweating from the heat. Burning firewood inside a sea cave during summer—it was an almost unimaginable way to live.

 

The sea monster, coiled by the fire, suddenly spoke calmly:

“My father was one of the crew members who went out to sea on the Thousand Smoke back then.”

 

Shui Que’s head snapped up.

 

The shock made the words loop in his mind twice before he fully registered them. He suddenly realized that the figure before him—this non-human being—was neither the sea monster nor Xie Qian.

 

Sweat rolled down his temples, but this time it was cold.

 

The figure deftly skewered the fish meat, blew on it to cool it down, and handed it to Shui Que.

 

“Don’t be afraid, Shui Que.” His hand was icy cold as he tucked a strand of black hair behind Shui Que’s ear.

 

Shui Que numbly accepted the fish skewer.

 

Standing before him was the person mentioned in his character introduction at the start of the instance—originally the most promising young sailor on Thousand Smoke Island, his missing, possibly-deceased fiancé.

 

“Yuan Zhou,” Shui Que whispered.

 

Yuan Zhou responded softly, “Mm.”

 

He never imagined that when he finally saw his beloved again, he’d be in such a state.

 

Seeing the unfamiliar look Shui Que gave him, Yuan Zhou had no choice but to accept the truth Xie Qian had told him.

 

Yuan Zhou was merely data from an A-grade instance within the infinite game. His world was constructed from data, and even the memories of their love were generated by the infinite system based on their personalities and behavior patterns.

 

Shui Que shrank back slightly, his voice timid as he asked, “Weren’t you dead?”

 

Although the introduction had said his fate was unknown, after a week of search and rescue—with the ship recovered but no bodies found—the chance of survival had been next to nothing. Everyone had simply assumed Yuan Zhou had died.

 

“Strictly speaking, I didn’t die,” he said. Afraid Shui Que would be frightened, he added, “That night I was sailing back, and I think the village generator failed, so the lighthouse light didn’t turn on. I was attacked by Wubao and fell into the sea. When I woke up, I was already like this.”

 

He had merged with the sea monster.

 

Or rather, not merged—it was more like they shared a body. The sea monster was the primary mind. If it didn’t willingly relinquish control, Yuan Zhou and Xie Qian only got access to the body during its rest periods, usually from noon to evening.

 

Shui Que took a bite of the fish. Without any seasoning, the sweetness of the meat itself was more prominent.

 

“So this big sea monster is called Wubao?”

 

Yuan Zhou, now cracking open a coconut for him, said, “Wubao is the name we give to that race… It refers to the sea gods, not just one in particular.”

 

Since they shared the same body, there were no secrets in their memories. Yuan Zhou knew this Wubao wasn’t the same one that had lingered near Thousand Smoke Island for hundreds of years.

 

But to the island’s residents, which one it was didn’t matter. What mattered was the hope that offerings to the sea god would ensure safe voyages and prevent the ocean’s evil gods from going on killing sprees.

 

“You just said… the Thousand Smoke…” Shui Que blinked, casually trying to gather more information from Yuan Zhou.

 

“Mm.” Yuan Zhou nodded. “When I was fifteen, my father passed the seaman training and became an apprentice sailor aboard the Thousand Smoke, a joint vessel between our island’s fishing co-op and the shipping company across the sea. On the third day after that year’s festival, the Thousand Smoke went out to sea. On their scheduled return date, they encountered a storm. The rescue team received their distress signal, but they were never able to find the ship again.”

 

His mother had passed away early. After his father died in the shipwreck, only he and his eight-year-old brother Yuan Yu were left.

 

Yuan Zhou had to juggle school with working on relatives’ fishing boats. Fortunately, their neighbors looked out for them, and with government subsidies, the brothers managed to grow up.

 

Because of the restrictions of the instance, Yuan Zhou couldn’t say much more to Shui Que.

 

He looked at him deeply, as though it might be the last time they would ever meet, and finally said, “Eat up quickly. I’ll take you back to Thousand Smoke Island soon.”

 

The return trip was just like the journey here: Shui Que was encased in a round, flexible bubble that allowed the enlarged sea monster to carry him.

 

Unfortunately, this was Yuan Zhou’s first time controlling the body, and he wasn’t yet skilled. As they neared the shallow waters close to the coast, the bubble burst.

 

Shui Que choked on several mouthfuls of seawater, caught completely off guard.

 

A tentacle lifted him to the surface.

 

They were already quite close to the beach.

 

Someone swam over from the shoreline.

 

Yuan Zhou narrowed his eyes. The tentacle gently placed Shui Que onto a nearby reef, then he submerged himself into the water to hide.

 

A soaked head of black hair emerged from the sea. The figure pushed himself out of the water and climbed onto the reef.

 

His face was handsome but tired, dark shadows under his eyes. The young man quickly checked on Shui Que’s condition.

 

Seeing that Shui Que had merely passed out from choking, Yuan Yu knelt beside him and, without hesitation, pinched Shui Que’s nose and began performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

 

The noon sun was glaring, and the damp seawater on their bodies was heated by the sunlight.

 

Shui Que slowly regained consciousness, letting out a soft cough. Yuan Yu supported his back, helping him sit up, and Shui Que coughed up a couple of mouthfuls of seawater.

 

His little face was pale and listless, looking quite pitiful.

 

Yuan Yu’s expression remained tense and silent. Suddenly, he cupped Shui Que’s face, his lips carrying the salty tang of the ocean, and pressed them against Shui Que’s.

 

It was a simple touch—just lips on lips, no deepening, no pressing.

 

Only when he pulled back did he lightly lick the bead of water on Shui Que’s lips.

 

A wave crashed against the reef, and the splash hit Yuan Yu’s back directly.

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Huge shoutout to @candycorns2 on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.

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