Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 124: Dancing Daffodils — V

[Bonus Chapter 9]

"I thought we were at an agreement to not involve ourselves in this matter?" Hu Lijing sighed as he looked back at Li Xinyuan from over his shoulder, eyes cast down as he simply shook his head. "Ahh, no matter. We are already on our way now."

Li Xinyuan decidedly refused to meet the nine-tailed fox’s eyes as he tread through the white thicket of snow that reached far above his knees.

"I am aware we agreed. But tell me, Lijing, would you not have decided to come when the little girl was crying so much?" He asked, voice calm in the midst of the howling wind, the cutting chill of which seeped bone deep. "I couldn’t bring myself to ignore all those tears of the children and the people who were suffering."

"However," Hu Lijing interjected calmly as he melted away the snow in front of himself, clearing the path for them both. "I pray you harbour no tall expectations. Even if it’s within our abilities, it’s not a necessity that we will be able to solve it."

Li Xinyuan heaved a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he walked behind the divine fox, throat bobbing as he grimaced slightly.

"Of course, I know."

How could he not know such a thing? The surgeon may have come forth to help — even while knowing the limits to his abilities — but he was not a man with a particularly big saviour complex.

For all he cared, he would help with what he could and if it was something out of his bounds...

Well, it was what it was.

Li Xinyuan shrugged mentally as he allowed his gaze to roam freely around, taking in and assessing the extent of the winter that had spread its claws without preamble.

Just what could have caused such a brutal onset of winter.

While admittedly this world wherein he lived — in spite of being in ancient times — held a somewhat understandable resemblance to the ancient chinese history that he was aware of, on its own, this world was just as vastly different.

So, even if he might have had the knowledge of the behaviour of weather, in this world that knowledge had little to no significance at all.

Especially considering...

Stealthily, the surgeon stole a glance at the back of the amber-haired male who was on fire. Literally.

... In this world existed creatures of ancient mythos. And those who could only exist in high fantasy.

Slowly, he cleared his throat, as if he was about to say something. Abruptly, however, his unspoken words were interrupted, cut off and curbed in their warm cradle the moment the haunting screech of that bird echoed in the blizzard.

The XueQiao that had been a gift from Liu Mingyun.

Gracefully, it glided through the sky, navigating through the treacherous storm, comfortable as though it was the bird’s home ground.

Perhaps it was not a conjecture too far from the truth. It was not as if Li Xinyuan didn’t know the origin of this species of the said bird anyway.

Its pristine wings beat about in the howling winds as the white bird dove down, sapphire eyes glinting as it cut its way to him.

Gracefully flapping its wings, Xue Qiao carefully settled on his shoulder, cautious of not sinking its sharp talons too deep as if it was afraid of hurting Li Xinyuan.

Affectionately, the surgeon reached up to gently stroke the bird’s head, who in response butted its head against his palm.

"Did Xueyue find something?" In a soft tone, the surgeon asked.

Xueyue, the beautiful white bird named aptly after the snow it was borne of and the moon it resembled, chirped as it answered. "Why, yes, Master; Yueyue has found the scent of that man you’re searching for."

Li Xinyuan smiled slightly, rubbing its head slowly as he gave it a few words of praise before asking Xueyue to lead their way.

Aside from having mystical powers related to the winter, Xueyue was proficient in navigation as well as tracking; both of which were exceedingly useful for such scenarios.

Once more, silently, Li Xinyuan thanked the Crown Prince and his thoughtful gift before swiftly following Xueyue’s lead with Hu Lijing clearing the path for him.

"How far deep into the woods must that man have gone?" Wondered the nine-tailed fox, his voice raised to reach the surgeon’s ears through the relentless blizzard.

Li Xinyuan shook his head, his wide sleeves and fur cloak—to give himself an illusion of warmth despite not needing it—billowed in the wind as he rushed through the snow, his steps so light they left no traces.

In juxtaposition to his traceless meandering, the land Hu Lijing stepped on—and even if he didn’t—the snow instantly melted away, thanks to his fiery—literally—nature.

"Who is to say what went through the desperate and delirious mind of a man who believed in his own reasoning?" Li Xinyuan simply shrugged, eyes narrowed as him and the divine fox of flames each lept from one withered treetop to another, living the frail plants shaking in their wake.

"As far as this matters goes, I doubt that man was wrong," Hu Lijing wondered, "this untimely and accursed winter is anything but natural."

Hearing the divine fox’s remark, the surgeon couldn’t help but glance at him, shooting him an inquisitive look with a raised eyebrow.

"Why, could it be that Lijing has sensed something in this place?"

To the surgeon it wasn’t unbelievable. Not at all. Considering the sort of entity Hu Lijing was—a nine-tailed fox—such a thing was not inconceivable.

Especially if he were to think of the past Hu Lijing had delved to him as well as the myths and folklores he knew regarding nine-tailed foxes from the modern times.

At the question, Hu Lijing nodded, expression solemn as he darted forward, leaving Li Xinyuan to follow his trails. Ah, such an inhuman man!

Ai, Hu Lijing was the farthest thing from humans anyway. With this thought in mind, Li Xinyuan simply shook his head and continued to follow him silently while lamenting his own existence as a weakling.

The other handful of ’weakling’ masters in Jianghu, sneezing suddenly: "Who’s cursing is?"

Disdainfully, Hu Lijing glanced back at the surgeon, rolling his eyes as he guessed the thoughts in his mind. "Don’t bother. I’m not someone you can compare yourself to, Master." Saying so, he simply flipped back and seized Li Xinyuan by the scruff of his robes and took him to ride along.

Li Xinyuan who was having an experience of riding the coattails of a bigshot: "..." Why was this humiliating, ah?

Moreover, not only were Hu Lijing’s words not brazen but also dripped with a distinct pridefulness of someone who was at the doors of immortality. Just a few decades short, perhaps.

If Li Xinyuan hadn’t peeked a glance at the amber-haired male, he would have suspected the man of wearing a smug look on his face.

In truth, Hu Lijing’s expression hadn’t changed from the annoyance he felt at the impromptu mission. It was exceedingly apparent that for him the words he had spoken so casually were nothing but truth.

Li Xinyuan calmly averted his eyes, letting the cold wind blow at his face as he remained still, contemplating.

In this novel, the surgeon could count at least three people who were on par with Hu Lijing in terms of strength, martial prowess and Qi.

First and foremost, the Heavenly Dragon, Son of Heaven, Liu Haungjun. Second, the protagonist of this world, Liu Mingyun and third the Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Cult of Jianghu, Cheon Wuhui—who was said to be able to snatch away power from the stars and eclipse the sun with his might.

Hmm...

Now that they were going around Jianghu, Li Xinyuan would have to be careful of not accidentally crossing the members of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Just thinking of the man gave him chills.

"Here we are." Hu Lijing announced, his voice tense as he set Li Xinyuan on his feet, fiery eyes glancing around furtively in the snow. "Something is here."

Slightly shaking his sleeves to rid himself of the flakes of snow, in a low voice, Li Xinyuan replied in askance. "What?" Casually, he glanced at the dark mouth of the imposing cave looming a few metres away from them. "In that cave, I presume." He added, eyes following the intricate trail of frost that seemed to climb out of the cave, covering the entirety of its mouth.

The source of the frost? Unknown.

The surgeon looked away, as if completely unaffected by the sight. His eyes were instead caught by a curled up body in front of the cave.

Thanks to his enhanced vision, Li Xinyuan could easily see the blackened and cracked skin on the corpse. Not a single visible part of the body was rid of cracks.

It was simply not a pretty sight to look at.

Could it be...?

Shaking his head, the surgeon stamped down the rue in his heart. What was there to do when the man himself had walked to his death?

Silently, he prayed for the man’s departed soul and then, belatedly, took notice of the nine-tailed fox’s tense form.

"Lijing?" He called out, only for the amber-haired male to snap his head towards him, his pupils shrunken as he put his finger in his lips, gesturing him to remain silent. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Li Xinyuan’s heart thumped, body tense as he glanced at the mouth of the cave from the corner of his eyes, worried.

This was the first time Li Xinyuan had seen Hu Lijing look so... Tense. As if his body was ready for a fight or flight response.

"Step back." He hissed at the surgeon. "Something is amiss. Gravely."

"What happened?" In a tense cadence, Li Xinyuan whispered, taking a step back as Xueyue glared at the cave from his shoulder.

"This cold energy of winter... It can’t be..." Hu Lijing murmured to himself. "That monster... Its soul had dissipated. ZhenHai had witnessed it himself... How could he be—?"

As soon as the whispers reached the surgeon’s ears, he froze, eyes widening as his jaw clenched.

Oh heaven...!