Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 144: Fluttering Poppies — V

"Intuition?" With a tentative current of curiosity, the Heavenly Demon canted his head to the side. "Would you perhaps elaborate?"

Li Xinyuan nodded slightly, while keeping his head lowered and golden eyes trained on Bai Huiqi’s face.

Elaborate? Elaborate what—his ass, or the asspull of a response he had just given?

The surgeon slowly drummed his fingers on his thigh, searching for a convincing response. His long lashes fluttered slightly.

"I am afraid it isn’t something that I am capable of explaining in any capacity. I just... cannot." Then, in a firm voice, he replied, "However, I could give you a more apt reason other than merely my own intuition. That is, if you’re willing to lend an ear."

Fuck... Why did he have to say that?! To the fucking Heavenly Demon too. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck—

—Li Xinyuan sucked in a deep but silent breath. Under the cover of his robes, he could feel cold sweat trickle down his back.

It’s okay. It’s okay. It is still salvageable. He could do it. He could do it.

"Oh heaven," Cheon WuHui sighed deeply, then with a slight curve of his lips, he shifted in his seat. "We are certainly willing, Doctor Li."

Li Xinyuan swallowed quietly, eyebrows furrowed. Almost as if out of the blue, the sheer aura around Cheon WuHui had turned menacing. The very air and the pressure surrounding him seemed suffocating.

The scarlet eyed man leaned forward in the slightest, curiosity rolling off him in waves. With a miniscule flick of his wrist, the Heavenly Demon signalled him to speak.

Li Xinyuan bit his lips, worrying the soft flesh between his teeth. "Yes, Cult Leader." He paused, collecting himself. "Allow me a moment to organise my thoughts."

Cheon WuHui nodded slightly, allowing Li Xinyuan some time to collect himself.

"Now, where should I start?" Li Xinyuan sighed deeply, rolled his shoulders. His gaze flicked down to Bai Huiqi—still unconscious, still sleeping—who lay still. "I’m certain Cult Leader is as aware as I am of Bai Huiqi’s true self." He looked up, a calm, placid pool of gold piercing right through Cheon WuHui. "That he is a fox spirit, yes?"

Cheon WuHui leaned even more to the side, narrowed scarlet eyes flashing with interest. "It is hard to not be aware."

Li Xinyuan nodded, albeit a bit stiffly. Gently, he reached to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Bai Huiqi’s ear. "Then, the Cult Leader should be able to understand my reasoning easily."

"That... Shall be dependent on how sound it is."

The surgeon huffed to himself. Sound reasoning, my ass. He thought to himself, mockingly. "Simply put, Huiqi has lived in isolation for a long time—long before he met us." He swallowed, a strange tightness seizing his heart. His throat felt a little tight as he spoke. "A loneliness as long as his would drive anyone mad. Yet, here he is. That alone is proof of his perseverance. Is it not?"

Cheon WuHui remained silent, simply listening to the words Li Xinyuan spoke, allowing them to sink in. "By all means." He whispered in the light of the gravity of the given atmosphere.

Both pairs of eyes, one of scarlet and one of molten gold outlined by obsidian, merely gazed down at the fox spirit—both steeped in different thoughts.

"What I intend to say is that—he is not human. He does not understand, or know what it is to be human—" not that I have a concrete answer to that either "—he does not understand, nor know to differentiate good actions from bad. Morality and immorality are one and the same to him. He knows them, but not as much as us." Li Xinyuan paused, clenched his fists tightly to ground himself through the resulting pain.

Focus. Focus. Li Xinyuan, you can do this.

"If I were to compare him to anything or anyone, I would compare him to a child in his early years. Not in terms of physical body or any other mental capacity—but only in terms of human values and morals." He paused to take a deep breath, a soft sigh rolling off his lips.

Cheon WuHui looked at Bai Huiqi and then at his own hand. He did not have any response to that.

Li Xinyuan straightened up, composed himself just enough to continue speaking. "And that is why, I wish to keep him close and away from any influence that may lead him down a treacherous path."

At that, Cheon WuHui frowned, drinking in the words before realising the hidden implications. "Is Doctor Li perhaps suggesting that We are a bad influence on Young Master Bai?"

"I said no such thing, Cult Leader." But yes, that’s exactly what I meant. Fuck you, what are you going to do? Kill your daughter’s doctor, huh? Huh?!

Li Xinyuan controlled himself mentally and cleared his throat before continuing. "More than the Cult Leader being a negative influence, it is about the inherent morality and values that are prevalent, taught, passed down, and advocated in the Heavenly Demon Cult."

He sat squarely, eyes narrowed and spine ramrod. "Can you deny it, Cult Leader? Can you deny the fact that what is acceptable in the Cult is unthinkable, unacceptable to the world?"

Cheon WuHui opened his mouth briefly before closing it once more. He had no words to deny Li Xinyuan.

"That is what I thought." Li Xinyuan nodded curtly, his lips curling into an almost victorious smile.

If it were any other man, Cheon WuHui would have long since had him thrown in the dungeons and beheaded.

But this was Li Xinyuan. He could afford to but wanted no bad-blood with the Spectre of the Blood Moon. It wouldn’t cost him much, but to his daughter, it would be a big price to pay.

"Continue, Doctor Li." Calmly, stoically, Cheon WuHui commanded.

Li Xinyuan jolted ever so slightly as if he was only now remembering who he was facing. "Yes, Cult Leader." He nodded slightly. "So, it is but my humble wish for Bai Huiqi to stay with me, near me until he can develop his own morals and values.

"Ones he can follow forever, without wavering in the slightest." He pursed his lips, slowly rubbing a lock of snow white hair between his fingers. "Not only that, I want him to be able to see the world more. Explore it, understand it, and maybe even love it. He deserves to know that not every human is going to give him pain, does he not? He deserves to live a free life."

With that out of the way, Li Xinyuan licked his lips to moisten the chapped flesh before looking up at the Heavenly Demon again. "Don’t you agree?"

"..."

Even though he did not receive any answer from Cheon WuHui, Li Xinyuan continued, undeterred. "That being said," he paused, giving the crimson-haired man a small smile. "I fear he would not be able to experience all of that should his name, his being, or his identity be connected to your or the Cult. This is all my concern.

"Even so, you can ask Bai Huiqi’s opinion on the matter once he awakens. Should his wishes be different from my own, I shall follow what he desires. After all, it is no place of mine to go against his wishes, is it?"

With that, Li Xinyuan stood up slowly and bowed gracefully to Cheon WuHui. Then, with a gentle stroke of his hand, he took Bai Huiqi’s temperature, injected some more of his Qi into the fox spirit, and left the room in slow, elegant strides.

That left Cheon WuHui alone with one unconscious Bai Huiqi and his own, unfathomable thoughts.

After a long period of deep, thoughtful, yet oppressive silence, Cheon WuHui moved—

—Leaned closer to Bai Huiqi, that is.

He closed the distance between himself and the fox spirit, hovering right above him, such that his warm breath caressed the latter’s face.

His long, wavy crimson locks hung low, dancing just shy of Bai Huiqi’s flesh. He reached, slowly, deliberately, with restraint. Long, calloused fingers curled, brushing carefully against the fox spirit’s relaxed eyebrows.

With a tilt of his head, Cheon WuHui whispered, his voice deep and baritone. "We are selfish." He drawled slowly, softly, almost menacingly. "You intrigue Us. It is akin to an obsession, Young Master Bai. For no reason We are privy to, We feel compelled—We want you. For Us, and Us alone."

He paused, long, deep, breathless. "Would that be possible?" His crimson gaze raked down the prone man’s face, zeroing on his delicate, vulnerable throat. "No matter." His lips curled slightly, the smile on his face jarringly soft against his cold, almost obsessive eyes. "We shall have you—eventually."

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Author has something to say:

Author (cheekily): And so, big mouthed—in this case, big thought-ed—Xinyuan makes a comeback! Also, we love a polite, strong, and slightly obsessive Demon Cult Leader—

YuanYuan (annoyed and tired, kicks author away): Fucking speak for yourself, bug. Laozi almost died in that bastard’s pressure!"

Cheon WuHui (out of the blue): Oh Heaven, was someone talking about Us? (Reaching his sexy hands for Huiqi)

YuanYuan (instinctively swatting his hands away): Don’t—! (Clears throat) Don’t touch him, Cult Leader.

Cheon WuHui (surprised, mostly amused): We would think ten times before doing something like this, Doctor Li.

(Smiling deeply)

YunYun (appearing swiftly, pulls YuanYuan behind himself): This Prince would also think before touching him, Cult Leader.

Cheon WuHui: ... [/Sob.jpg/]

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