Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 90: Thalassotélos — XXI

A single word from the dragon’s mouth had Hu Lijing bowing his head in utter shame as the sinister tendrils of guilt, self-loathing and fear curled in his guts, swirling and expanding as they claws at his chest, the suffocating feeling of it making it hard for him to breath as he curled into himself, hugging his body as he looked at his lap.

The silence — thick and tense — that followed Long ZhenHai’s disbelieving and hushed question was deafening in Hu Lijing’s ears, the tightness in his chest made him choke as his throat constricted as if an invisible hand was wrapped around his neck and viciously choking him.

For a moment, Hu Lijing didn’t know what to do. His sluggish mind raced in a desperate struggle as the wheels in it turned, the organ trying its hardest to make the nine-tailed fox breathe properly.

To no avail.

Eventually, Hu Lijing gave up on trying to regulate his breathing as his mind and ears began filling with a sporadic buzzing whilst a feeling of ligh-theadedness began to set in.

He wasn’t sure what exactly was going on. Perhaps it was his sense of shame, of fear of having to face the dragon’s hatred and the guilt twisting in his heart towards him, trying to take his life.

He wasn’t sure.

Heaven, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to fight for his life and try to live, to survive and try to explain himself if there was anything explicable about his situation, his judgement, in the first place.

As his eyelids grew heavy, body feeling light — a telltale sign of how dangerously close he was inching towards his death — Hu Lijing could feel himself succumbing to the sweet but cowardly temptation of death.

Maybe he should finally give up and let the cold but forgiving arms of death engulf him in its embrace, after which he would eventually be led to the final and ultimate judgement of his heinous soul.

A judgement that was bound to be not in his favour.

As though time had slowed, the nine-tailed fox could feel his limbs shutting off ever so slowly as he slowly began to lose control he had over them, his hands sliding off his arms as they fell limply on his lap, his head lolling to the side in a slow, mocking motion as his fingers twitched and heart slowed down.

In front of him, as Long ZhenHai finally managed to comprehend the full meaning behind his words, the dragon’s grip on those enchanted bars tightened in an instant, easily shattering the frozen metal, the sharp shards of it burrowing themselves in his hands as they splinterd around, glinting under the minimal light.

In his very soft, ever so gentle voice as it shook, Long ZhenHai whispered yet another question Hu Lijing was unable to hear. And even if he did, he perhaps wouldn’t be able to answer properly. Or at least in a way he would be able to make the dragon understand.

Not that there was anything right about his actions anyway. At least he could justify them as a desperate and ill-thought out decision of a man who had lost his everything and even his mind had been ailing at that moment.

Perhaps.

But Hu Lijing couldn’t. Because to justify any actions, he would have to be awake. Which he — very obviously — was not. Having passed out completely after confessing his sins and was now teetering on the edge of death.

The moment those frozen bars that supported his body shattered, Hu Lijing’s body tilted outwards, in a limp fashion, the unconscious man fell on Long ZhenHai, his head crashing against the dragon’s chest as he breathed weakly.

Any questions that Long ZhenHai may have had even half a mind to ask disappeared immediately when the nine-tailed fox crashed into him. Instinctually, his arms wrapped around his body before his mind could catch up to the actions.

The moment Long ZhenHai touched the divine fox spirit, he stilled, freezing instantly as he felt just how rapidly Hu Lijing’s lax body was cooling down.

He didn’t want this.

He didn’t want Hu Lijing to die. Not like this, not on him!

What was the cause of him fainting suddenly? Long ZhenHai wondered. His hands delicately running up and down the fox’s side, his touch still so reverant as though he was holding a delicate treasure.

He wanted to be angry at Hu Lijing. He wanted to shake the nine-tailed fox awake and ask him just why he— he killed their child.

His and Hu Lijing’s.

But he couldn’t. Hu Lijing was not awake. He was barely tethered to the land of living by his feebly beating heart!

And the dragon had no idea what to do. How was he supposed to help Hu Lijing live until he could devise a plan for his escape??

Long ZhenHai took a deep breath, his heart hammering against his chest as he hugged the nine-tailed fox closer, his one arm resting on the latter’s back while the other went under his knees as he stood up, holding Hu Lijing in his arms ever so carefully as he looked around, wanting to see if there was a place for the fox to lie down.

There wasn’t.

The only place he could see was...

Long ZhenHai turned his head to look in front of him, Hu Lijing nestled in his arms as he breathed shakily, the damp, decaying prison wall stared back at him.

He had no other option.

Long ZhenHai shook his head in remorse. Hugging Hu Lijing tightly, the dragon stepped into the cell just in time for the bars to rebuild themselves anew.

Briefly, Long ZhenHai turned to look over his shoulder before going down on his knees, Hu Lijing’s unconscious body on his lap as he gently shrugged off his outer robes and laid them down before lying Hu Lijing on them.

The longer he gazed at the unconscious nine-tailed fox’s face, the more intense the storm in his heart grew.

Yet...

Yet he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at Hu Lijing, much less hate him. He loved him too much.

Love would be his downfall, would it not?

Despite himself, a soft chuckle escaped Long ZhenHai’s lips as they curled into a soft, helpless smile; the chuckle turning wet as his shoulders shook, a wet trail of tears flowing down his cheeks as the drops hung down his chin, trembling slightly before they fell.

The sparse drop of saline water cut through the air between them and splashed on the nine-tailed fox’s closed eyelids. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

A soft gasp fell off the man’s lips as he bowed his head, hands pressed on the damp floor as his spine curved slightly and he trembled, muffled sobs falling in a deluge.

Almost intelligibly, the dragon bend over the unconscious fox and sobbed softly, hands fingers dragging on the floor before he slowly raised it to rest on Hu Lijing’s forehead, caressing the pallid skin ever so gently.

"Jing’ge... Oh, Jing’ge, how much I love you," he took a deep, wet inhale as he closed the distance between them, touching his own forehead to the fox’s. "I don’t know why you sacrificed our child—" his trembling hand trailed down to rest on the fox’s belly as he pressed on it softly "—but I understand. I understand and I forgive you. Don’t torment yourself." He whispered.