Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 66: Thalassotélos — VIII

Hu Lijing didn’t know what to say, much less think. Ideally, he should have been happy, delighted even.

The child in his womb was sired by none other than the person loved with all his heart and his soul.

The child in his womb belonged to Long ZhenHai, there was no doubt about that. None. After all, no one but Long ZhenHai had touched him so intimately since the day they were born till today.

But at that moment, Hu Lijing felt none of the said happiness. His heart was thundering against his chest, hammering into his ribs as blood rushed against his ears, his mind blank and body feeling cold.

As though he had been thrown into an ice cellar.

His trembling hands found their way to his belly as he glanced at himself every so often. Feeling happy? Delighted?

What a fucking joke!

How could he feel happy about his pregnancy when he knew just what it would entail? Hu Lijing body felt cold, collapsed on his knees, he hugged his belly and curled up to himself on the ground, a sob curled tight in his throat.

His entire person shivered, a chill clawed down at his spine as his teeth clattered.

The stars, those dreams... Those visions and gruesome images—

—Was it all an inevitability after all?

Hu Lijing bit his tongue, blood filling his mouth as he swallowed thickly, the metallic tinge of it leaving a bitter aftertaste in his mind as his tongue regenerated even as he bit down on it harshly.

Lying hapless on the ground in front of him, the priestess watched, her face pallid as she took in his reaction with her eyes wide and jaw slack.

Her left hand held onto her neck, feeling the phantom of his chokehold on her throat still as she sat up, right hand planted on the ground, her spine curved and beads of sweat trailing down her temples.

In a weak and tentative voice, she spoke, her words a strangled noise. "Clan Leader..?"

Hu Lijing didn’t find it in himself to respond, too busy being drowned in the sea of overwhelming fear and despair.

Biting his lower lip, the divine fox trembled, letting go of his stomach, he brought his knees to his chest, hugging himself as he rocked back and forth.

The priestess dragged herself to him, in spite of the tremors wrecking through her body, she crawled over to him, her eyes glancing back and forth between him and the shrine.

"... Clan Leader?" She called out again, cautiously, her hand landed on his shoulder. "Clan Leader, are you alright?"

At her touch, Hu Lijing froze, his mind that was trapped in the impenetrable fog of a maelstrom of emotions slowly came back to him.

As he returned to himself, slowly but surely, the nine-tailed fox regained his ability to talk, trying to drown out the treacherous voice of clamouring warning blaring in his mind.

Though distantly, he could hear the loud knell of death, of misery ringing, he could picture the paths of stars and their web, their speed increasing, the fate that was to befall him—

—Befall the entire spirit realm, the speed of destruction, the wheel of doom, he could sense it all accelerating.

He could feel the balance of power skewing, he could see the looming shadow of the pandemonium that was going to descend upon the likes of him.

And the worst of it all?

Only he could sense it, only he could feel the shift, only he could taste the mounting chaos in the atmosphere.

Not even Long ZhenHai could sense it all.

And he hated that. He hated that this burden, this accursed knowledge was a weight only his shoulders were meant to carry.

He hated it.

And more than that, he hated that the catalyst of it all, the crux of this looming destruction, the impending doom was...

It was none other than the child in his stomach.

The child who he was supposed to love but couldn’t bring himself to, the child whose blood was a mix of Hu Lijing’s and Long ZhenHai’s.

The child who belonged to the love of his life. This very child was nothing but a curse on this realm.

Hu Lijing’s body shook at the thought once more.

"Priestess," there was a tremor in his voice, an underlying rage simmering in his words. "How, how far along do you surmise the— the child is?" Hu Lijing turned his head to look at her, his amber eyes filling with tears, giving them a glassy sheen.

Befuddled, the priestess looked at him, not once had she seen even a speck of joy nor delight on his face at the news.

Why, she wondered. Her heart was turning cold. Why was Hu Lijing so— so shaken?

Did he not want this child?

"I cannot say for sure, Clan Leader Hu. But— but from what I sensed," she swallowed, the lump in her throat tightening as she gazed at his dazed expression. "Your pregnancy must be at least a few years— perhaps 12 years?"

"Twelve years?" Hu Lijing gasped, blanching as all the colours drained from his face, his body tensing once more. Taking a deep breath, he dared to say, the cadence of his voice bleak. "Priestess... This— this child is mine and Young Master ZhenHai’s."

"I surmised, Clan Leader," the priestess nodded, stiffly. "Going by the records from the past cases of cross-breeding between a dragon and a fox spirit, your pregnancy may last from anywhere between 35 to 43 years."

Hu Lijing looked down at his stomach, eyes wide in disbelief as he felt around his belly, mouth slightly ajar as he felt shivers travelling down his back.

"I’ve been— I’ve been pregnant for such a long time and yet— yet, how did I fail to realise that? Or at least perceive the signs?"

The priestess looked at him, a sympathetic smile graced her lips in an attempt to sooth the nine-tailed fox’s distress, her hands rubbing his shoulder in circles.

"I cannot be sure of it, Clan Leader Hu," she murmured against his ear, voice low as she tried to offer the pregnant fox spirit some semblance of comfort while keeping vigil about the shrine. "But we should be able to find out about it from the clan’s healers. So let us go, Clan Leader."

Her hands slipped down his shoulders and rested firmly on his upper arms, with a gentle squeeze, she helped him back on his feet, her head bowing as she pulled him along, her pace neither too fast nor too slow.

"Priestess—" Hu Lijing opened his mouth in daze. Though he did register everything she said, his mind had even begun processing the new information that was poured upon him so suddenly. "—why did you stop me from going into the shrine?"

The priestess gave him a silent sidelong glance, for a brief moment Hu Lijing forgot about the life budding in his womb and relaxed enough to feel sparse flakes of embarrassment.

Of course, it was a stupid question.

He had already experienced what it was like, he had already seen that thing. Whatever it had been, be it a god, a demon or a fallen being.

He had seen those mirthful yet malice filled eyes gazing back at him. He had seen those sharp teeth, all sharper than swords and larger than what would be considered fangs.

He had sensed the suffocating malicious savagery rolling off the entity. There was no doubt about its strength nor its alignment.

It was corrupted and it was a much– much greater force than he could hope to imagine.

But that was not what Hu Lijing’s question meant, was it?

He didn’t ask what was within those shadows, hiding lurking and frightening. Nor did he ask what their clan had been keeping sealed.

He had asked a simple question—

—Why did the priestess stop him from so much as stepping into the shrine?

Not that he wanted to ever again. Not after catching a fleeting yet traumatising glimpse of what they worshipped as though it was a deity.

"Clan Leader Hu, do you really not understand why?" In a faint voice, she asked, her gentle hands tightening around his bicep as she glanced back, giving the closed shrine a look filled with trepidation.

"I do understand that it would have been dangerous for me to go near that... ’deity’. However, my curiosity stems from your forbiddance of my presence." Hu Lijing explained himself, the unease in his heart fading the more the distance between them and the shrine increased.

Mercifully, the priestess broke her silence, her soft voice filtering out of her throat as she explained to him the reason behind her spontaneous behaviour.

"Let me explain before we reach the healers." The priestess conceded, glancing at him as they walked through the meandering corridors of the clan’s ground. "As you are now aware our deity isn’t exactly a deity. He is much more of a fallen one."

Hu Lijing nodded slowly, his hands tightening on his wide sleeves. "Indeed. I saw..." He trailed off, unsure if he should speak anything more. "It was certainly a sight."

Albeit a bit too horrifying one.

Then, he frowned in contemplation. "I think I am missing something crucial to connect the dots between my pregnancy, my... Child and the shrine’s... Deity."

The priestess nodded, pulling him along to turn a corner slowly as their differing robes billowed, pristine white crashing with forest-like green of Hu Lijing’s.

"That would be true. Since this is your first pregnancy — may you and Young Master ZhenHai have many more — you may be somewhat unfamiliar with the rules of the clan’s shrine." She hummed as Hu Lijing turned his head to look down at her, anticipating her next words.

"All the pregnant fox spirits in the clan or forbidden from entering the shrine because—" she paused, making a strangled noise, Hu Lijing felt worry curling in his gut at the sound "—because it is during pregnancies that the soul of those spirits is the weakest, hence easiest to break and possess."

Hu Lijing didn’t wait for her to say anymore, already filling the gaps himself.

"By the deity who was never truly sealed and is looking for an opportunity to break out of them?"

The priestess paused, her body stiff as she nodded, a sigh rolling off her lips as she did so.

"Indeed."