Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 150: Dancing Yellow Chrysanthemum — I

The silence that followed his whispered words allowed Cheon WuHui simply to enjoy the way Li Xinyuan’s face seemed to shrivel and sour at just the very implication they carried.

"I am spoken for," Li Xinyuan clicked his tongue with a roll of his eyes. "And the only reason I pester you is so you keep your distance from Huiqi."

"Oh dear," Cheon WuHui hummed, raising an eyebrow. After a beat of being under the surgeon’s unimpressed look, he added with a wry smile. "We seem to have spoken out of turn. We pray you find it in yourself to forgive Us, Doctor Li." He nodded minutely.

Li Xinyuan shifted slightly, inclining his head as he responded. "I forgive you." He waved his hand. "It is but a small matter. I can understand your exasperation, regardless of my own opinion on it."

Cheon WuHui hummed, somewhat relieved at the man’s easy understanding. Oftentimes, he could take a jest slightly too far without having the intentions to do so. Thus, it was a relief to see the doctor take no offense.

Humour... It was somewhat of a wicked thing in the Cult. Even more so if the source of it was him. His jests, dry and light-hearted were more often than not taken too literally.

Words could be twisted, meanings can be changed, the mirth hidden behind the layers of speech killed in cold blood, and the humorous intentions under them murdered soundless.

Hence why he had no one in particular to jest with. It was a rarity for him to look at someone from JiangHu, say something, and not be instantaneously met with terror.

The culmination of all the bitterness of being able to even make a jest would sparsely rear its head and take things a touch too far. It was... Disheartening.

But not right now.

"What I do wish to discuss with you, however, is the matter of your clearly vested interest in Bai Huiqi." Li Xinyuan drawled, giving him a long side-eye.

At the mention of the four-tailed fox spirit’s name, Cheon WuHui paused briefly before continuing to walk. Bowing his head, with a chuckle that had a softness you wouldn’t expect from a man like him, and replied, "Only Doctor Li seemed to have taken a note of that."

"He isn’t quite well-versed in human emotions yet," Li Xinyuan lowered his head, eyes watching the road under their feet as he hummed. "Hence, it falls upon me, the responsibility, to make certain he does not fall prey to flimsy interests."

The Heavenly Demon’s smile froze at those words. Clenching his hands behind his back, with gritted teeth he asked, "May We inquire the implication behind these words?"

Well, of course, the surgeon was pretty sure Cheon WuHui understood what he was trying to imply. Of course, Li Xinyuan did not mean to discriminate against him or insinuate that he was incapable of sincere emotions.

Not at all.

Just because he followed the path of demonic humans, was the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, did not mean he could not, or worse, was unworthy of true feelings.

It was just... He was wary of the thread of fate that tied Bai Huiqi and Cheon WuHui together. Yes, it was within their shared destiny to meet, to be of use to each other. Yes, to an extent Cheon WuHui was to be of help for Bai Huiqi.

None of that was something the surgeon could ignore or outright deny.

However, it was also a truth—one written in the stars, and on the paper he called their story—that the Heavenly Demon was not above making use of Bai Huiqi to make his nefarious designs come to fruition.

By using their shared emotions, or by any other man.

That was what he feared—that Bai Huiqi would be let down the same path of blood and death that he unwittingly (or intentionally, blinded by lust for revenge) followed in his lifetime as the fallen ten-tailed fox spirit.

He wanted to prevent that, if it was a possibility. No matter how minute.

Li Xinyuan looked up, turned his head to meet the man’s darkened gaze without the slightest inkling of fear. "I am certain you understand the implied meaning very well. All I wish to state is that you do not toy with his heart. More so, for your amusement."

Cheon WuHui did not answer. For a long time, he seemed to stay silent. As they tread down the crowded and joyous path—so far removed from that reality that it seemed they lived in a different reality.

Even without a word leaving his lip, the Heavenly Demon did not fail to make the surgeon aware of his displeasure. The pressure around the two seemed to increase in a way imperceptible to the civilians.

Li Xinyuan could barely breathe, sweat had begun flowing down his back as though a waterfall. His legs felt so immensely weak that he could fall.

Still, he refused to let his legs buckle under that pressure.

"You could always use your words," in a thin voice, he choked out. Almost. "I doubt you need to pressure me in this manner."

"You’ve caused Us great displeasure." Cheon WuHui began, his words clipped and cadence curt as he glanced at the surgeon. "You make it so tempting to rid this world of you."

Li Xinyuan froze, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. A bone-chilling cold stabbed through his body, running up and down his spine.

"Perhaps." He nodded, voice slightly hoarse as he drew in a deep breath once Cheon WuHui deigned to lift the pressure off his body. "I do understand the sentiment" —Li Xinyuan clenched his fists under his sleeves— "and for that, I express my sincerest apologies."

Cheon WuHui observed him, eyed him up and down as though to assess the veracity behind his words. But before he could voice his own thoughts, he heard the surgeon continue in a calm voice—so startlingly void of fear even now.

"However, you would not kill me. Not now, not yet, or possibly ever." Li Xinyuan raised his head, facing the night sky as he exhaled deeply. "Because you would make enemies too great even for your stature."

Cheon WuHui raised an eyebrow. Sometimes, he couldn’t help but wonder if Li Xinyuan’s audacity came from his own, admittedly astounding and without any equal abilities; or simply the madness he hid under the multiple layers of his amicable face somewhere.

Following the surgeon’s example, he raised his head heavenward, carmine eyes tracing the stars twinkling in the sky as he counted them as he so often used to do when Yerin was a wee-child.

"Your arrogance nearly equals Ours."

"..."

"..."

"... I don’t believe myself to be that arrogant."

"Well, neither do We."

"Bolloc— Lies."

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