Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 62: Zopyra — IX

"... It is like him. In the sense of his origin, his core. His love is very similar to himself." The older fox spirit mused aloud, voice soft as he tapped his fingers on his chin. "It is like water, cool, calm, gentle and pure like the blue sea he rules."

Hu Lijing’s fists shook as he continued to listen silently. Nodding as he went.

"For you, from what I have observed, his patience is endless—" Hu Lijing opened his mouth to retort "—at least seemingly." The nine-tailed fox closed his mouth and looked down.

"No matter how much he tries, I don’t think he will be able to stay away from you, much less upset for the rest of your lives, Lijing." Very gently, he reached out and put a hand on the back of Hu Lijing’s. "So really, all you have to do is apologise with all the sincerity that you have in your heart. Tell him the truth, tell him that you love him and then try to make him understand the logic behind your actions."

Hu Lijing took a deep breath, his racing heart calming down as he nodded jerkily. Blinking his eyes several times to keep the welling tears at bay.

"Right... Yes, of course." He croaked softly.

The six tailed fox let out a soft huff, a wry smile following his words as he added, wanting to lighten up the mood, even if just a wee-bit.

"Even though your logic is a little flawed and somewhat biased—" Hu Lijing made an offended noise "—Long ZhenHai is a reasonable person. He will understand, I’m sure of it. He loves you too much to not, anyway."

Hu Lijing nodded, lower lip wobbling as he took a nasally breath and sucked on the soft flesh. "And... And if he doesn’t?" He asked, his voice quiet and hesitant as he peered at his mentor, wanting some form of assurance from the older fox spirit.

Instead, the former clan leader shrugged, an apologetic look taking over his handsome face as he looked at Hu Lijing.

"Then there’s nothing we can truly do, except wait. Long ZhenHai will come around eventually. You and I both know that, no?"

"... Yes," reluctantly, Hu Lijing nodded, lips forming a slight, imperceptible pout. "He will. We have an eternity for that."

"You do." The former clan leader agreed with a nod and a smile as he stood up, running his fingers on Hu Lijing’s head as he added. "Now think carefully about how you are going to do it, yes? We don’t want to half-ass an apology that Long ZhenHai deserves the most."

"I know, I know." Hu Lijing grumbled, pushing his mentor’s hand away as he turned his head to the side. "You may leave now, Elder."

"Aiyah, so cold to your mentor after getting what you wanted. I’m hurt, Lijing."

"Hush, stop being so dramatic, Elder." With a roll of his eyes and a small smile dancing on his plush lips, the nine-tailed fox spirit waved his mentor off. "I shall not be seeing you out."

As the older fox spirit sauntered out of the door, he paused to lean back, a mischievous — one entirely unbecoming of an elder of the clan — smile played on his lips as he scoffed at Hu Lijing.

"I’ve had this position before you came along and used this place as mine for longer than you," he rolled his eyes as Hu Lijing let out a snort at his statement. "Of course, I know my way around, dare I say better than you even."

"Of course, of course," Hu Lijing nodded easily in a placating manner. "I understand my mistake, Elder. You can leave now, I have quite a lot of things to take care of before going to find Long ZhenHai, unfortunately."

At his words, the former clan leader nodded slightly. "Very well, I shall now take my leave now, Hu Lijing. May you succeed in your apology, child."

Hu Lijing smiled at him, gentle gratitude dancing in his beautiful amber eyes as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Thank you, Elder. I pray the same. And me even giving a fleeting thought to an apology would not have been possible without you. For that, I’m immensely grateful to you."

With a nonchalant wave of his hand, the former clan leader shook his head as he took a step out of the door again.

"No need to thank me, Hu Lijing. I will just feel relieved should it help you stop being so gloomy all the time. Moreover, this is something I ought to aid you in as your mentor."

After he finished speaking, the older fox spirit promptly turned around and left without casting a quick glance behind as he closed the door after himself.

Hu Lijing let out a soft sigh, the gentle exhale rolling out of his plush lips as he closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head, subconsciously his lips tugged into a small smile as his pointed fox ears twitched, instinctively tracking the sound of the former clan leader’s fading footsteps.

One the sound completely stopped, the nine-tailed fox straightened his back, rolling his shoulders and neck as he sighed while turning his somewhat sore wrists.

Then, he glanced at his table which was cluttered with numerous parchment sheets and scrolls.

Seeing the heaps of paperwork, the fox spirit pouted ever so slightly.

Well, guess he would have to finish all this paperwork before even beginning to articulate his apology to Long ZhenHai.

By the time Hu Lijing finished sorting everything, evening had come spreading its vast hands over the sky as dusk fell and the beautiful light blue of the day’s sky gave gave to the dark, mesmerising, starlit expanse of the night.

The nine-tailed fox’s lips pressed into a thin line as he leaned back on the chair, the back of his neck aching a little as he tilted his head back, a small wince falling out of his lips as his hand found its way to his nape, slender but calloused fingers gently massaging the taut surface.

The amber-haired male’s eyes slid shut as he took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly to relax from the hectic day that had just passed.

After along period of silence that befell the room, the nine-tailed divine fox spirit reluctantly pushed himself in a proper position and massaged his eyelids with his fingers.

His other — free hand — reached forward as the fingers curled and tapped on the hard surface of the table. Slender, bony and elegant fingers soon found their rhythm as the divine fox spirit of the flames fell into a deep contemplative silence, a slight frown marring his face as his lips pulled down every-so-often.

One after another, countless thought passed by his mind, internal voices — of reason, of discord and of treachery — clamouring together in a cacophony as Hu Lijing felt the shadows of an impending headache loom over him.

Several ways of giving his apology to Long ZhenHai crossed his mind, but ultimately, Hu Lijing rejected all of them, lips pursed together as he swallowed a disgruntled snort.

Why did Hu Lijing always manage to find himself in less than desirable situations more often than he would like?

Annoyance and irritation washed over him, like an unstoppable deluge, the unpleasant amalgamation of those emotions crashed into him when he found himself rejecting the latest idea.

Until finally, Hu Lijing conceded, accepting defeat in a reluctant embrace as he stood up, wide sleeves shaking at his sudden movement as the chair under him let out a quiet screech upon being pushed back.

Outside of the window behind him, in the darkened scenery of the night under the deep blue and star filled sky, a spirit fledgling — a creature of the night — flew away, a low screech bubbling out of its throat.

Hearing the piercing screech, Hu Lijing jolted ever so slightly as he stubbornly hardened his resolve and strode out of the room, long legs carrying him forward with swift ease as he pulled the door close behind himself.

Very well, if no other idea seemed to work the way Hu Lijing had hoped, the divine fox spirit would do it the simplest — yet the hardest way — go catch Long ZhenHai before the dragon could slip away, perhaps even corner him, and apologise to him with all his heart.

If need be, Hu Lijing would take his heart out — literally and figuratively — for the dragon to see and believe his sincerity.

...

The balance of power and population in the Spirit Realm was mainly divided into five great spirit clans.

The oldest being that clan of Dragons and the youngest of the five being the clan of Tigers.

The clan of Spirit Foxes was the second oldest in the realm followed by the clan of Monkeys. However, contrary to the age of the clans, their populations were opposite.

Not completely, but almost.

The clan with the largest population being Monkeys and the clan with the smallest population being Dragons, preceded by tigers and then foxes.

It was mostly due to the very long amount of time it took for a single dragon’s birth.

For a dragon to be born, it took almost thirty years. For a spirit tiger’s birth, it took nearly twenty while to give birth to a fox spirit, it took almost eighteen years.

Not to mention that most spirit dragons were never too keen on having hatchlings for themselves.

Hu Lijing took a deep breath, dispelling any unnecessary thoughts as he silently followed the familiar dragon who led him through the clan’s territory.

He had made some effort for his appearance today, having donned new, finer robes in a shade of green that flattered his pale complexion and amber eyes. He had even pulled his hair in a neat hairdo with the help of a fellow fox spirit.

He needed to meet Long ZhenHai today. No matter what.

"Young Master ZhenHai has been in a less than stellar mood for the past few years, Clan Leader Hu, I hope a chat with you would help resolve his brooding." The dragon murmured quietly.

Behind him, Hu Lijing nodded, clearing his throat. "I do hope so too."