Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 35: Budding Lotus — VI

This is what confused him to no end. This thoughtful gesture, this warm reassurance. The well-built body pressed behind his own.

Wow, Li Xinyuan’s mind was turning into a real mess. The hands that cupped his ears were large, their touch searing Li Xinyuan’s flesh, yet the surgeon made no move to get out of the Crown Prince’s hold.

As he walked forward, eyes snapping shut. Briefly, he wondered if trusting Liu Mingyun to the point where he’d willingly walk into the heart of Smithy, the place that burnt with heat akin to a kiln, was a good idea.

But then he pushed the thought away, eyes moving under his eyelids as he pursed his lips, anxiety brewing in his heart as Liu Mingyun’s presence anchored him.

He was going to live only once anyway, so might as well go through with it.

Li Xinyuan could hear nothing, the previously too loud sound of hammers became a muffled dull rhythm, the too bright light became mellow as he closed his eyes.

He could see nothing, but it didn’t mean darkness. His inner eyes could still see, but it didn’t affect his physical body as much as walking through the place aflames with light could have.

He trusted Liu Mingyun as the Crown Prince led him, his steps slow and deliberate meaning to accommodate Li Xinyuan’s speed as a temporarily blind man.

He appreciated the thought. The air was hot, scorching, smouldering at worst. Long before he knew it, before they were even halfway through the hall, the surgeon’s robes clung to his body, like an uncomfortable layer of second skin.

Being wet with water, having robes cling to him in that way was not bad, it was not unwelcomed, uncomfortable yes, but not entirely unwelcomed.

However, having his robes cling to his body purely from perspiration was an entirely different matter, a vastly different set of sensations.

None of which Li Xinyuan was fond of. So he hastened his steps, behind him Liu Mingyun seemed surprised for only a second before following him as well.

Warm hands cupped his ears, blocking out the noises and firm back pressed against his back all the way to the exit of the hall which led to yet another corridor.

At the far end of the corridor — which seemed to stretch on into an endless maze — was a door.

As the door of the smithy closed behind them, Li Xinyuan let out a sigh of relief, soft exhale rolling off his plush lips as Liu Mingyun removed his hands from his ears and moved to stand by his side.

"Xinyuan walked quite fast." He remarked with a healthy dose of amusement in his deep voice. "One would think he was being chased by a creature of some sort."

Li Xinyuan responded to his teasing with a huff, an unintentional snort left him as he crossed his arms on his chest and looked ahead of him.

"This lowly one must express his gratitude to Your Highness for using his royal body to help this lowly one." He murmured, hands tucked inside either sleeves as he dipped his head into a bow, golden eyes half-lidded.

Liu Mingyun looked down at him, chin slightly tipped upwards as his lips curled into a small smile. His hands were folded on his back, fingers flexing as he resisted the urge to touch Li Xinyuan’s cheeks. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

His cheeks had lost their juvenile fat and were now much more defined then they had been months back.

Liu Mingyun wanted to touch his face. But he didn’t.

"It is what This Prince should be doing for Xinyuan." He paused for a brief moment, as if to contemplate his words before adding. "... As your intended, is it not?"

Hearing his words, Li Xinyuan paused, slowly turning his head to look at Liu Mingyun’s face, he blinked several times, unexpectedly flustered.

"Your Highness..." He began, tongue darting out to lick at his bottom lip as he drew in a deep breath. Unable to say a word for a long time, Li Xinyuan felt his cheeks heat up, words getting stuck in his throat. "... Thank you, My Liege."

He simply changed the way of addressing the Crown Prince. As an indication of changed proximity and perhaps even an acknowledgement to what Liu Mingyun had said.

Li Xinyuan almost couldn’t believe himself. He was the adult in this relationship — if it even was one yet — but a few simple words from the Crown Prince left him out of his depth.

He wanted to curl up to himself and grin like a madman. Did Liu Mingyun just ’flirt’ with him?

He had no idea, honestly. Moreover, it felt a little, just a wee-bit, wrong to be on the receiving end of ’flirting’ from Liu Mingyun who was just eighteen but looked to be older than that.

Li Xinyuan, lost in his thoughts, blinked. Could the Crown Prince be considered a jailbait. But then again, there was no proper ’police’ in this world who could arrest the surgeon. Not to mention that Li Xinyuan himself was younger than the Crown Prince.

Hold on, he was getting distracted by weird thoughts.

With a shake of his head, Li Xinyuan once again refocused his gaze on the large door at the end of the corridor.

He took a step forward, just how difficult could getting in there be?

"Wait, stop Xin’er." Liu Mingyun’s voice made him cease before he could walk further.

"Yes, My Liege?" He murmured, twisting his body to look behind him, raven locks swaying with the movement of his torso. Liu Mingyun extended his hand, took a hold of Li Xinyuan’s wrist in his gentle grasp and drew the youth back, making him step back.

Keeping his hold on Li Xinyuan, the Crown Prince turned to look at the corridor. "Not so eager, Xin’er." He smiled, shaking his head ever so slightly. "How well protected do you think this place is?"

Li Xinyuan blinked. Ah, right. How could he forget? No matter how dingy, a place inside the palace was a place inside the place. It had to be well-protected, especially when the place behind that closed door was the Royal Armour.

Coughing into his free hand curled into a fist, Li Xinyuan looked away from the Crown Prince, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the oversight on his part.

"My apologies for the haste, My Liege." He murmured, feeling Liu Mingyun give a light squeeze to his other wrist.

"No harm done, Xin’er." He smiled, indulgently. "Everyone is bound to make a mistake or two sometimes."

Li Xinyuan looked away. That smile was a bit too much for his little heart to bear. Liu Mingyun was an already breathtakingly handsome man, but with that indulgent smile as though only for Li Xinyuan, he looked even better.

"Thank you, My Liege."

Liu Mingyun’s smile brightened a touch as he pulled Li Xinyuan closer to himself, their sides almost touching as he led the surgeon forward with utmost care.

"This place is engraved with an illusion array at every step," he explained, his deep baritone voice soothing any and every nerve that was taut in Li Xinyuan. "So, Xin’er must be careful. We have to unravel each of these arrays to avoid getting trapped." He turned to look at Li Xinyuan to see if the latter understood his words.

Li Xinyuan gave a slight nod in return indicating that he did understand.

After getting the desired response, Liu Mingyun nodded, his grip on Li Xinyuan’s wrist loosened as his fingers trailed down to intertwine with the latter’s, holding his hand on a firm grasp.

"Let This Prince lead you to our true destination, Xin’er." He murmured, giving Li Xinyuan’s hand a little squeeze.

Li Xinyuan nodded, heartbeat quickening as he allowed himself to be led away.

Truth be told, Li Xinyuan would probably follow Liu Mingyun as long as the youth held his hand like this. As long as it was the Crown Prince, the Specter of Blood Moon was willing to follow him through the dead of the night, through the high of the mountains, thicket of the ravine and even the depths of the ocean.

As long as Liu Mingyun led him, holding his hand, warm fingers crossed with his, Li Xinyuan would follow him to the end of this world.

After all, Liu Mingyun was the protagonist and Li Xinyuan was meant to be his Imperial Consort.

This was their destiny. There was no denying it.

As the thought crossed his mind, Li Xinyuan shook his head, shooing it away. His golden irises flickered as they landed on the taller male’s muscular and strong back. It was a reassuring sight to look at, not to mention a good one.

Li Xinyuan’s lips quivered into a lopsided smile as he followed after Liu Mingyun, slender fingers curled against calloused ones.

Sooner than later, they made it to the end of the corridor without setting off any traps thanks to Liu Mingyun’s familiarity with the arrays and his swift guidance.

The Crown Prince looked up, taking in the sight of the iron door as he pulled Li Xinyuan from behind himself, making the latter stand by his side.

"This..." he spoke in a low voice, something in his tone made the surgeon feel like he was going to hear something that was immensely sacred to him. "... Is the Royal Armoury. The birthplace of Can Ri."

Hanging on his waist, the long, slender, sheathed sword that had been quiet this entire time rattled, as if to remind them of its presence.

"Welcome to the place where you shall find your perfect weapon, Xin’er." Liu Mingyun smiled deeply, pulling his hand away from Li Xinyuan’s wrist to cup his left cheek. "The weapon that will resonate with the same music as your beautiful soul." He added a beat later.

Li Xinyuan felt his breath hitch at the soft touch of the warm hand on his face. He said nothing, words failing him rather miserably.