Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 146: Fluttering Poppies — VII

"What is this Lantern Fair?" Hu Lijing asked spontaneously, while strolling into Li Xinyuan’s room. Casual in his movements, the nine-tailed fox spirit walked over to Li Xinyuan’s desk and hopped on the free space on it. "The cult has this festival, I hear."

"Hear from who?" Calmly, the surgeon asked in response. His elegant brows were furrowed, consternation bleeding thick in his downturned gaze.

Hu Lijing canted his head to the side, watching him with interest in his eyes, though with a stark lack of changes in his facial expression. In the slightest, he leaned towards Li Xinyuan, looking over the seemingly unintelligible scribbles on the paper he was pouring over. "What are you doing?"

Li Xinyuan looked up, still furrowing. "I am trying to create a proper and feasible rehabilitation plan for this" —he waved his hand around, flicking drops of ink around in the process— "era."

Hu Lijing nodded slowly, as if mulling over the words in silence. "By all means," in a light tone, he said, "I tend to forget what a far era you are from— Stop doing that, you’re wasting the ink."

Li Xinyuan coughed, finally taking note of the ink splattered on himself, the table, and the nine-tailed fox. "I apologize."

"You should." Hu Lijing replied, amber eyes squinted briefly. "Now, tell me, do you know of this festival at all?"

Li Xinyuan made a face at the divine fox spirit’s expectant look. "Why would I know anything about it?" He gave the amber-haired male an incredulous look.

Hu Lijing hummed thoughtfully, sucking in his cheeks. "I could not help but wonder. You know a lot of things after all."

"I am afraid you have overestimated my omniscience."

"Have I now?"

"By all means."

Following this brief interaction was a silence, neither awkward nor oppressive, in which the surgeon focused on his work while the fox spirit stood by the window, watching the rustling leaves hanging loosely on their branches.

The leaves were rich green in colour, rustling as they moved with the wind. Their movements shook the branches of the tree.

The nature sprawled across the Heavenly Demon Cult’s mountain range was vast; the earthy scent of the soil fresh after rain was rich and comforting. It was not home, for sure, but it was comforting in a familiar way nature always has been.

After what seemed like an eternally stretching silence, the nine-tailed fox spirit spun around, his back now facing the window. All of a sudden, Hu Lijing was filled with an unfamiliar vigour.

The heat and energy inside him crawled under his skin; his very flesh thrummed with vivacity. Even his simple act of striding towards where Li Xinyuan was sitting held a strange animation.

Out of the blue, he spoke up, all but vibrating on his heels. "Xinyuan," he was smiling slightly. "We have to go."

Sensing the sudden change in Hu Lijing, the surgeon looked up once more. Setting the brush down, he canted his head ever so slightly. His golden eyes flitted from Hu Lijing’s animated person to the open window of the room.

Somewhat concerned, Li Xinyuan breathed out, staring covertly at Hu Lijing. What’s this?

Outside, at the distance where the civilians of the Cult were presumably settled in a rather sizable town, there was a soft glow which could only belong to flames. The surgeon raised both eyebrows; tentative curiosity painted itself on his handsome features.

The sun had gone down a while ago. The dusk had fallen upon the mountain as usual, but this magnitude of brightness was unusual.

"What is happening?" He asked quietly, watching the energy in Hu Lijing fluctuate vivaciously. "You appear oddly restless."

Almost giddy, the nine-tailed fox rocked on the balls of his feet. His long amber hair swayed with him as he spoke, voice carrying an undercurrent of anticipation. "There’s fire—" he began, glancing out of the window over his shoulder before turning his head to face the surgeon. "Small, but a lot, scattered around." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Li Xinyuan’s eyes narrowed. He took a deep breath, hands on his hips, and tried to keep away a frown from appearing on his face. Making sense of these fragmented sentences was troublesome. But he could understand what Hu Lijing was trying to say. Somewhat.

Tonight is the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Lantern Fair. There are bound to be lanterns—a lot of it, even.

"From what I understand," he began, cadence low as he gave the nine-tailed fox spirit a long, scrutinising look. "You wish to go to the Fair?"

Hu Lijing nodded, hands clenched loose under the wide sleeves of his sage green robes. "Yes."

"..." The surgeon pursed his lips into a tight line. Contemplating, he stayed silent for a few moments. Hu Lijing kept his eyes trained in the former, awaiting his verdict. "... Very well. Let us go. But Huiqi will come with us."

Hu Lijing nodded quickly. He did not particularly care whether he was going with Li Xinyuan or with Li Xinyuan and the four-tailed fox spirit.

He just wanted to go and be close to so much fire.

...

Under the cloudless sky, painted in all the dark hues of the night and darkness, the light of the gentle crescent moon accompanied by twinkling distant stars showered in the land below. Illuminated by the warmth of innumerable lanterns that hung above all the streets, the common folk were joyous in their celebrations.

Chatters filled the bright streets, vendors and hawkers called for attention, children ran around chasing one another, their faces flushed with joy and laughter.

Men and women mingled as music danced in the air drenched in delight. The fragrance of sweets and delicious food wafted through the air, drawing people in—hungry or seeking entertainment.

In the midst of this delightful atmosphere, two men seemed to stand out. Even in the throes of the crowd they seemed apart. Both were tall and built, yet one towered over the other as they drifted side by side.

Taller of the two was dressed in simple flowing black robes, half of his raven hair was tied in a top knot whilst the remaining half flowed down freely, giving him a calm but cold air.

Walking beside him—the shorter of the two—drew many stolen glances due to his handsome but unique appearance. He donned pale blue robes and walked with a delicate grace but kept his head bowed and hands loosely folded in front. His long white hair seemed to shine under the warm light of the lanterns.

"You ought to walk with your head held high," said the man clad in black. "For you have no reason to lower it." His words, whispered in a low voice, caused the white-haired man to flinch.

"Wh... What?" Bai Huiqi asked blankly, his eyes slightly wide as he looked at the Heavenly Demon beside him.

Cheon WuHui, clad in an unrecognizable disguise, lowered his head, smiling minutely. "You need not bow your head to many, much less the common folk. In regards to age—" Bai Huiqi frowned at that "—as well as strength, you needn’t lower your head. Well, excluding Us."

Before Bai Huiqi could stop, a snort left him. "Such arrogance." He murmured to himself.

Cheon WuHui chuckled in amusement, having heard the whispered mockery. "Why, yes. We are stronger than you."

"..."

When he did not receive a retort, the Heavenly Demon said instead. "Why don’t you look around, there is much to be seen."

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