Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 123: Dancing Daffodils — IV

[Bonus Chapter 8]

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Muted footsteps groaned as they trampled upon the branches and twigs that fell under the combined weight of the man’s feet and the thick layer of untimely and pristine snow that covered the entire forest floor, the flakes weighing down on the branches of those age old trees that towered aboveground, their leaves shaking in the unforgivable blizzard.

The man hunched over from shivering trembling under the might of the forced winter, sunken and gaunt cheeks hardened in purple hues as the man advanced through the snow, laboriously raising his feet from under the blanket of snow.

Slowly the man rubbed his frozen hands together, endeavouring to produce some warmth in his numb body as he panted, white mist puffing out of his mouth with every inhale and exhale.

Crack. Crack. Tap. Tap.

In spite of the ache coursing through his body, the man traversed through the great white of the blinding snow. In spite of his feet failing him, the man continued, enduring the cold, the frost, the numbness climbing up his limbs as he crawled; stubbornly clawing his way through the harsh winter of the forest.

His lips moved slowly, cracked and bleeding the warmth of his crimson blood as the darkened skin tore in itself. His eyes were closing, the shadows of encroaching slumber closing in on him as the sheer coldness of the snow seeped into his meagre clothes, crawling into the torn crevices of his cracked flesh, it should have burnt, it should have been agonising yet he felt nothing but numb.

The deeper he crawled into the white expanse of the woods, the louder and harsher the winds howled, as if warning him to turn back, to retreat to safety.

Yet the man continued, his mind nothing but unshakeable fortitude, his ears heard nothing but the choked sobs of his inconsolable daughter, his eyes seeing nothing but the damning flush of the painful frostbite covering her once fair cheeks, her eyes a flood of cascading tears.

The man sobbed, his own eyes watering from the bone-deep helplessness he felt at being unable to do anything to ebb her pain. What sort of father was he who could not even stop this accursed winter that hurt his child, his precious daughter?!

He cursed himself as he faltered under the weight of the cursed winter and the irresistible pull of slumber. He wanted to sleep, he wanted to close his eyes.

Surely just a moment would not harm?

His eyelids fell shut, momentarily the comforting embrace of sleep enveloped his mind and body—

—Suddenly, his eyes flew open, drowsiness gone as he shook his head, hands covered in the merciless shade of deep purple as they trembled, unmoving as they sank into the cold bed of the relentless snow.

Gritting his teeth, the man admonished himself as he struggled to move, forcing his torso to lift off the cold snow as he glared fiercely into the dark oblivion of the cave in front of which he had collapsed, spine chilling from the overwhelmingly sinister aura that emanated from within its mouth.

This was the place, the damning crux of all the suffering wrought upon him and his humble village, This was where the winter began. He shall be the one to put an end to this suffering, he had to be—for his daughter, for the sake of the tears she shed in pain inflicted upon the faultless her.

With great effort, the man rose himself off the snow, head held high as he panted, lips trembling as he spoke, voice rough and broken from the cold as he glared into the darkness of the cave, blood trickling down his blackened and frostbitten lips.

"Whatever monster you are!" He hollered, coughing blood, staining the pristine snow under him in crimson red. "Leave this vicinity! I will not allow you to—" for his daughter who had her entire life ahead "— terrorise us anymore! Show yourself, you hideous beast."

Silence followed his words.

"Show yourself I said!"

Silence. Silence. Suffocating silence that drove the man mad.

Then suddenly—a low growling and hissing sound rose from the dark cave.Winds howled, the very air stilled as the man’s eyes widened in terror, his pupils shrinking to the extreme as his arms gave out under his increasingly heavy body.

"F-Fo—" Before he could complete his words, the man drew his final breath, collapsing haplessly on the snow as the black of the frostbite crawled up his entire body rapidly, blood colouring the canvas of white under him in glaring red.

Farewell, my A’Xin... Forgive your weak father... My dear, take care of our precious girl and yourself, I will not be seeing you... To... Night.

Alas, left in the solitude of death, his final thoughts were forever lost to the oblivion of the winter.

The white tails swished as the only other entity turned around and disappeared into the darkness of the cave, the winter intensifying with its departure.

Yet another life lost to the ruthless cold that plagued the mountain.

...

"My husband has not returned for more than three days," the woman whimpered, her calloused but bluing hands clasped in the gentle grasp of the surgeon as he gently smeared the salve on her skin. "My daughter—" she glanced at her slumbering ward who was nestled in the warm embrace of the amber-haired man "—has been asking for her father ever since... But in this blizzard, I—" she choked up.

Li Xinyuan took a deep breath, keeping his face impassive as he pursed his lips, the waves of grief rolling off the woman affecting him to a degree. Gently, he dropped her hand to pick up a gauze bandage, and started wrapping it around her frostbitten hands as gently as he could.

Of course, she feared the worst, as she should. In a weather like this, going outside was suicide in and of itself, and the fact that her husband had not returned for days... He had to have died somewhere.

Li Xinyuan dipped his head briefly before speaking in a low voice. "Change this wrapping every day and you must keep it dry." He looked at her, smiling tightly. "Make sure to not make any excessive movements lest you worsen your condition. In the worst case scenario, I might have to cut off your hand, do you understand, Madam?"

The lady nodded shakily, swallowing her sobs.

Li Xinyuan looked away, golden eyes flicking towards the white storm outside the window. "Why did your husband go outside in this weather? From what you have told me of him, he seems to be a wise person, at the very least."

"That..."

"Please, feel free to speak your mind."

"That—" the woman choked again, sniffling as tears poured out in a deluge. "—my husband loved his daughter very much. He could not bear to see her crying from the pain of this terrible cold."

Hu Lijing gently rubbed his fingers over the little girl’s cheeks, chasing away the frostbite slowly.

The woman did not notice that as she sobbed, sitting in front of Li Xinyuan. "He believed that somewhere deep in the woods there was some entity that was the cause of this untimely blizzard. We’ve lived so long in this village but never in those years has the winter been this harsh."

Hearing her words, Li Xinyuan paused, for a brief moment his mind wandered but before his mind could wander too far away, the deep glare in Hu Lijing’s gaze that bore into the side of his face pulled him out of the train of thought.

Promptly, the surgeon glanced at the nine-tailed fox, raising an eyebrow in askance as he ever so slightly canted his head to the side, his gaze holding a seemingly simple question with a look of utter innocence on his handsome visage: Why the glare?

Hu Lijing rolled his eyes, seeing through the sloppy theatrictics. Do not pretend, I am well aware exactly what is on your mind. He tilted his neck slightly, eyes widening a fraction in warning.

Sheepishly, Li Xinyuan cleared his throat but shamelessly refused to look away. I was thinking of no such thing, Lijing. Do not accuse me thoughtlessly.

Exasperated, the nine-tailed fox gave him a heavenward eye roll. Bullshit. Lies.

Hey!

Silently, Hu Lijing scoffed, gently carding his fingers through the little girl’s hair. Despite his disdain for the surgeon’s antics, the divine fox of flames’ gaze softened as he held the latter’s gaze. Whatever this may be, it is not your responsibility to be their salvation.

And suddenly, like a strong slap across his face, a well aimed punch to his gut, Li Xinyuan jolted, mentally reeling backwards as he looked away, the weight of Hu Lijing’s silent words going around his neck like a noose he couldn’t quite loosen as much as he would have liked.

Was this not his responsibility? Silently, he contemplated, complex feelings swirled in his gut as he clenched his fists and closed his eyes.

No.

No, this was not his problem to solve.