Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 145: Fluttering Poppies — VI

Through long hours of maintaining the balance between caring for Bai Huiqi and Cheon Yerin— granted Young Miss Cheon was more cared for by Hu Lijing than by Li Xinyuan himself—a long period of five days came to a thankful end.

This passage of time also fortunately gave the surgeon an opportunity to have a long overdue break.

"I cannot be happier to see you back to health, Huiqi," Li Xinyuan said, giving him a soft smile, and ruffled his hair gently as he stood up from his bedside. "These past few days have been unkind to you. It was an unsavory situation for both of us." He paused, as though deep in thought. "How about you take this opportunity to take a breather and relax? It would do you quite good."

And with that, he filed out of the room, murmuring something about a ’routine checkup on Cheon Yerin’.

Bai Huiqi looked up at his swiftly retreating figure in speechless silence.

In the days since he had joined Li Xinyuan in his journey around Jianghu, this was the first instance of the surgeon showing him any physical affection.

Moreover, the white-haired fox did not really have any fault to find with Li Xinyuan himself; especially given how despite the thick wall of ice and storm between Bai Huiqi and Hu Lijing—who was the surgeon’s long-term companion—Li Xinyuan did not treat the former any differently.

Perhaps, he even treated Bai Huiqi more favourably than he did the nine-tailed fox spirit. That was a much needed and welcome relief when he had not the slightest inkling why Hu Lijing so despised him.

The nine-tailed fox spirit, despite being his kind and more so nearly five hundred years his senior, refused to show him the slightest regards.

Bai Huiqi sat up against the headboard, an expensive duvet covering his legs, fragrant incense smoke drifting in the room; he was silent, contemplative. He could not think of any moment of time when Hu Lijing had been anything but distant, polite, and cold towards him.

From their first meeting—Hu Lijing had viciously attacked him—to the silence of those stifling nights whence Li Xinyuan had forced them to spend time together, hoping the sheer ice in Hu Lijing’s veins would somehow melt.

His hands curled inward, folding into the tight coil of fists as he grasped at the straws of his thought, his robes crumpling under his grip.

Almost a cruel irony.

It was him, the spirit of ice, of snow, and of the very winter; and then there was Hu Lijing, everything he could never be. Fire, warmth, light, hope. A beacon.

And in spite of it all, towards him Hu Lijing’s coldness put Bai Huiqi’s essence of existence to shame.

It was unbearable. But it was still small in comparison to the centuries of loneliness, of ignorance that he has been through. He could endure at least this much.

Bai Huiqi heaved a deep, long breath and loosened his hands, allowing them to drop on his lap.

Yes, rather than thinking of unpleasant memories, he ought to focus on relaxing his mind and bo—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Bai Huiqi’s form tensed, his barely silent thoughts clamouring once more. His head snapped up, eyes cold as they landed on the closed door with intense focus. Unwittingly, his Qi flared up the moment it clashed with the one standing on the other side of the door.

It was indeed Cheon WuHui, the conniving, arrogant man.

"We shall take your silence as your agreement," in a true Cheon WuHui fashion, befitting the Heavenly Demon, the man’s voice poured in. It was deep like the floor of the oceans, sweet as honey, yet laced in the venom of a waiting snake. "Young Master Bai."

Squinting, the fox spirit tensed even more. His gaze did not leave the door as it opened, groaning as if to announce the Heavenly Demon’s entrance.

The door opened, the sturdy frame quivering at his mere presence. Though unseen, the sheer aura surrounding him was unmistakable. And there he was—the Heavenly Demon, flourishing in his crimson-clad arrogance, peerless his very being, and yet so reeking of menace.

Once in, the door closed, trapping the two together, or rather—trapping Bai Huiqi with the tall, dastardly, and good-looking crimson haired man.

"What do you want?" Ice cold and uncaring of etiquettes, Bai Huiqi demanded. His voice was sharp. Barbed.

In response, Cheon WuHui smiled, appearing nothing short of amused, almost happy. With the grace of a lazy, self-assured predator, he approached Bai Huiqi. Slowly, elegantly, he strode over to him.

"Young Master Bai asks as though We cannot possibly visit him without a reason."

"You cannot."

Cheon WuHui smirked, a chuckle slipping past his lips. "How cold." He shook his head, unfettered as he sat where Li Xinyuan had been sitting not too long ago. "Anyhow, We are here to express Our immense gratitude towards you."

Bai Huiqi did not feel his contribution to Young Miss Cheon’s recovered health was so great that it warranted any personal expression of gratitude from the Heavenly Demon. All the more, he had done nothing but give her his marrow as he had been asked to.

"I have not done enough for your thanks." Almost terse in his cadence, he replied, face turned away from the man. He made certain of schooling his expression into cold indifference.

"Ah, do not be so callous, Young Master Bai," Cheon WuHui offered a wide smile, all teeth, too at ease. "With anyone but Us such behaviour would cause trouble."

That caused the fox spirit to stiffen, his fists clenching on the duvet. Still, he stayed silent as a mouse. Even if he was a mouse caught in a trap. A certainly bloody trap.

Sensing Bai Huiqi’s discomfort, Cheon WuHui’s eyes narrowed. With a fleeting glance spared at his clenched fists, the crimson-haired man exhaled through his nose and put some distance between them. As if he was mercifully allowing the fox spirit some room to breathe.

How condescending.

The very thought of being looked down on rattled Bai Huiqi to his core. His head lowered, clenched fists trembling as negative thoughts barged into his mind, tumbling in uncontrollably; akin to a flood with nothing to stop it.

The fox spirit bit his lower lip, sucking on the flesh as he inhaled shakily. His throat tightened, a sore lump formed in it very swiftly. He could not control it, the thoughts, nor those feelings.

Bai Huiqi was inferior to everyone else, after all. There was neither deceit nor falsehood to be found in the notion.

He was useless, with no certain place in this—mortal—realm nor in the Spirit Realm that was meant to be his home. He had neither any likeable nor any redeeming qualities to define hi—

Abruptly, he felt a big, warm, force cover the crown of his lowered head. The warmth of the contact had him flinching. The tears pooling in his eyes vanished from the start he received.

"Why have you gone silent so suddenly, hm?" The Heavenly Demon hummed, his claws burying in the silky white locks. Unable to resist the urge, he gently scratched the fox spirit’s scalp. "Say, Young Master Bai, where has the sharp tongue gone? Nothing more to say?"

With great effort, Bai Huiqi swallowed the tight lump in his throat. "It is nothing. Do not touch me.’ He whispered, face adorned by a feeble scowl.

Needless to say, he failed. He felt too weak to muster any real anger. Instead, the warm hand and the reassuring weight on his head served as a strange sort of comfort. The kind that sent his heart racing and warmed his face.

This... This feeling was different from when Li Xinyuan had ruffled his hair. He despised the source of that comfort but did not want it gone.

Subconsciously, he trembled, a shaky sigh rolling off his lips.

The Heavenly Demon raised a brow, inquisitive but polite enough to not inquire blatantly. Keeping silent, he continued running his fingers through the fox spirit’s hair.

The silence continued until finally, as it culminated, he cleared his throat. "Your contribution was, perhaps, the only reason Our daughter is able to draw breath still," he whispered, "do not think of yourself as less than anyone else."

Under his touch, Cheon WuHui felt a shudder wreak Bai Huiqi’s body once more. Almost off-handedly, he remarked. "You seem to tremble frequently."

Bai Huiqi felt his heart racing faster and ears hotter at the comment. Strangely at loss for words, he let out a strangled noise.

Cheon WuHui felt a smirk creep onto his lips at the noise as he let out a quiet snort. "Well, no matter." He pulled his hand away and held it out, under Bai Huiqi’s lowered face, for him to take. "Come." He said, slowly, leisurely. "Let Us take you around. See for yourself the life in Our cult. As it happens, today is the Lantern Fair that Our common folks celebrate. Surely, that would interest you, Young Master Bai."

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