Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 44: Shrivelled Forget-me-not — I

Without wasting another second, Li Xinyuan pulled off the duvet and swiftly shuffled out of the bed. His long waves dragged behind him on the mattress as he padded off towards the door, the hem of his white night robes dragged on the floor, wide sleeves swaying as he walked.

The dim, cool light of the early morning sky filtered through the window of his room, falling on him, casting a shadow over his person as he held the door handle and pulled it open, eliciting a low groan from the wood.

Slowly, the surgeon pushed himself out through the minute space and looked around, golden eyes squinting as he tried to look for any traces of Hu Lijing.

His ears twitched again, the sparse sound of the amber-haired male’s footsteps coming to an abrupt halt as if he either heard Li Xinyuan’s movements or sensed his presence.

Swallowing a sigh, Li Xinyuan pursed his lips into a thin line as he walked through the corridor in the dim light of the morning.

Where was Hu Lijing going?

His heart thumped as he continued moving forward, his mind whirring with countless thoughts, some bad, some good. Suspicion and worry intertwined, distress and curiosity dancing an elaborate waltz in his mind as he made his way towards the direction of Hu Lijing’s Qi signature.

Why was he sneaking around?

Li Xinyuan knew it wasn’t his business, not really. But he couldn’t help but feel curious regardless. Not to mention that Hu Lijing was his friend. Even more than that. He was his parent figure who’d raised him since he was nothing but a small child.

What if there was something wrong? What if Hu Lijing needed his help? Then what? He couldn’t let the older man try to deal with whatever problem alone.

The least he could do was offer his help, accepting or rejecting his help would be Hu Lijing’s decision entirely.

Ominous thoughts and worst case scenarios filled the surgeon’s mind one after the other as he turned a corner, making sure to walk silently.

He had a very bad feeling about this early morning shenanigan. He could only hope to be wrong about it, however.

As he continued followed the almost impossible to see trail left behind by Hu Lijing, a gust of wind blew through the window, giving the corridor which was already drenched in darkness an eerie quality, a shiver shot down the surgeon’s spine as he jerked, golden eyes catching the sight of Hu Lijing’s rapidly shrinking silhouette.

For a moment, he was tempted to call out to the older male, to ask where he was running off to, then after a second of thinking, he stopped, swallowing the latter’s name that was on the tip of his tongue.

With a shake of his head, Li Xinyuan continued following him without a sound, hoping to catch up to him.

The darkened corridors seemed endless. Li Xinyuan couldn’t quite place a finger on what exactly was wrong.

But for unknown reasons, the walk seemed to stretch on endlessly, like a small trail of cool river flowing through a forest that seemed to expand infinitely.

Li Xinyuan pursed his lips, tongue darting out to wet the chapped flesh as he cleared his throat. It might just be him thinking too much.

... Right?

"What the heck is wrong with him?" After a while, Li Xinyuan found himself growing tired.

Strange. His stamina was not so weak. Was it?

Out of breath, Li Xinyuan braced himself against the nearest wall as he leaned his weight on his right forearm and gasped, lungs feeling tight as he bent forward.

Something was definitely not right.

"Hu... Lijing.." The surgeon panted, senses blurring in and out of focus as the sound of his own blood surging filled his ears.

He blinked, almost too sluggish as he caught his breath and continued walking, this time, his steps a little heavy and slow.

Gradually, the abrupt breathlessness receded as the surgeon straightened up and sped up, no longer needing the wall to carry himself forward.

The more he lagged behind, the more the distance between him and Hu Lijing widened, like a large chasm separating them.

The darkness of the morning didn’t help. And the sun seemed to have delayed its rise, not a single ray of forgiving light pierced through the thick blanket of clouds that filled the sky.

Everything was less than ominous. At some point, Li Xinyuan lost track of time or how long he had been following the silhouette of his friend.

It almost made him feel like he was a supporting character in some dumb, lame ass horror movie.

It was this thought that had the surgeon freezing where he stood, feet rooted to the floor, body refusing to obey his command as he stared ahead of himself, eyes wide and otherwise calm mind racing frantically in an attempt to figure out exactly what amiss in this entire chain of events leading up to this point.

Nervously, the surgeon swallowed, taking a deep breath in an — mostly futile — attempt to calm himself down, he blinked, hands clenching and unclenching on his sides.

Nope. No, hahaha—

Li Xinyuan’s nervous expression was wiped out, replaced by a stoic blankness that took over his face as he slowly turned his head to look out of the window in the corridor, not daring — unable to — move even an inch.

Hahahaha—

Fuck. Something was definitely wrong.

By the looks of it, the time should be around 5-6 am in the morning. Yes, it was early morning, there was no contesting the fact.

But shouldn’t the main house’s maids and servants be up by now? Quietly shuffling around the house to go about their duties?

At least, being the Dive Phoenix, Li Jinhua should be awake, studying in her room under the light of a few oil lamps.

But she wasn’t. Only today, she wasn’t.

Why?

The thought sent a shiver down Li Xinyuan’s heart, a cold chill spreading in his thundering heart as he stilled, nails digging into his palm.

Why was no one but Li Xinyuan awake today?

And Hu Lijing—who was sneaking away without a preamble.

A bone-chilling thought struck the surgeon’s mind, his blood running cold as he hastily shook his head in denial.

No. Hu Lijing of all people wouldn’t do that.

He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t!

But what if his nature won over the years he’d spent with them?

What if in a fit of mindless rage he—?

What if—?

What if everyone beside Li Xinyuan had been ki—?

No. The surgeon stomped down that treacherous thought. Hu Lijing would never do something like that.

Hu Lijing was not a white-eyed wolf.

Li Xinyuan ducked his head, lips trembling as he bit down on the soft flesh and sucked in a deep, cold, breath of air around him.

His thoughts took a wilder and wilder turn as he continued trying to reassure himself.

What if, just what if?

Li Xinyuan’s breath hitched as he entertained the possibility, a bone deep chill settling within him as he trembled, cold sweat slick on his back as his face lost its colour rather quickly.

In spite of all the reassurance that Li Xinyuan came up with in order to calm himself down, his body refused to move, feet sticking themselves to the floor as though determined to keep the surgeon rooted on the spot.

Li Xinyuan gritted his teeth, covering himself with a layer of protective Qi. He made up his mind to at least go and check if Li Jinhua was present in her room, if at all.

He hoped she was. Heck, he couldn’t help but subconsciously pray that she was in her room, reading through some old scrolls of the clan, or the ones she’d been gifted when she returned to DàHuǒ after finishing her apprenticeship under the Jaegal clan.

However, the moment he took a single step forward, Li Xinyuan’s own shadow stretched out, turning into something unrecognisable and grotesque that he froze once more.

He bowed his head, dread creeping into his heart as he all but gawked at his shadow as though he was seeing it for the first time.

What the fuck was that? He blinked, golden eyes luminous in the dark and black pupils shrunken as the scene registered in his mind.

What the actual fuck?!

Li Xinyuan’s head snapped up, face losing all its colour when he saw someone approaching him, the person loomed over him, hulking figure made his own tall one seem dwarfed in comparison.

He reeled back. Or at least tried it. But his feet refused to comply like a good pair of feet usually do.

His long raven locks scattered as he lurched back abruptly whilst snapping his head to look at the person approaching him.

Li Xinyuan couldn’t see their face, shrouded in impenetrable darkness, they trudged towards him, steps staggering.

By their side, Li Xinyuan noticed, instead of appendages, sharp, shining claws.

This is going to kill me.

The closer they got, the calmer Li Xinyuan became on the outside despite the internal panic he was experiencing.

I’m fucked, aren’t I?

Li Xinyuan licked his lower lip, hands grabbing at his night robe as he shivered, staring at the figure with all the defiance he could muster up.

"...-an." Their hoarse voice rumbled as the distance decreased.

Li Xinyuan froze, spine stiffening as he looked at them, eyes wide.

"Li... Xin... yuan..."

The surgeon’s heart skipped a beat.

"Li... Xin... yuan..."

Before Li Xinyuan could react, unforgiving claws shot forward, grabbing him by the throat as they bent forward in an uncanny angle, lifting him off the ground in the process.

"Li... Xin... yuan..." Their faces grew closer as they— no. It. It snarled. "How... could you... let me... die—"

Li Xinyuan’s breath hitched as the airflow in his lungs cut off abruptly.

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