Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 114: Buds of A Marigold — IX

The moment Hu Lijing’s feet touched the moist sand of the island he was so familiar with, he felt his breath hitch upon laying his eyes on the sand and the shore awash by the roaring waves as the crashed and swept the dirt with it to the depths of the ocean.

This place, this shore, this exact location; all of it was a nightmare that had plagued Hu Lijing’s slumber for decades, making him unable to close his eyes comfortably without worrying himself sick over the dreams that would come next.

His free hand, the one fallen to his side, tightened into a fist as he drew in a cold, stubborn breath of air that was filled with the scent of sea water, the putrid stench of blood and decay. It was so much harder to turn a blind eye to the scenery where the vestiges of death lingered in a slow dance of wait.

The sea that roared, the wind that howled against his ears, the cool water that swept to the shore, dragging away the sand that had once been white as the soul of a pure infant, now so stained in the hues of ruthless crimson that it was nigh impossible to discern the once white, pristine layers of sand with the now scarlet colour on its canvas.

Hu Lijing closed his eyes, hiding away the pain shining in those amber gems as he felt his chest constrict whilst he struggled to break away from the terrible memories of the last time he had ever been here decades ago.

The feet that were sunken in the crimson sand, letting the fine particles crawl atop his shoes, had once trampled upon the pristine white taken for granted.

How he ached to be able to stand, to walk around in that pristine shore that was once untouched by misery. To even catch a glimpse of a single grain of white sand seemed like a dream too far-fetched now.

The scent of deaths, of desperation that had taken place here decades, still lingered in the air of the island, running through the ever expanding veins of the plants that grew since then, drawing nutrition from the decays of the bodies buried deep within the ground.

Hu Lijing bit his lips, feeling the warm tears stinging in his eyes as opened his mouth to breathe through it.

Before that—

"Urgh!" Sound of retching followed immediately by the grating noise of dry heaving made Hu Lijing’s eyes snap open instantly as he spun on his heels, amber hair flying in the howling calls of wind as he took a step forward, face surprised as soon as his gaze fell on Li Xinyuan who collapsed on the sand, hunched over as he dry heaved as though he was a dying animal. "What the hell was that?"

The sheer disbelief in the surgeon’s voice managed to completely yank the nine-tailed fox spirit out of his melancholic spiral as he promptly squatted behind him, gently patting his back as he frowned at Li Xinyuan.

"What seems to be the matter, Xinyuan?" He asked, concern evident in his voice as he looked at Li Xinyuan’s face, the poor man’s complexion was so pale that if Hu Lijing did not know better he would have mistaken the latter for a ghost.

The surgeon panted as he shook his head, unable to empty the contents of his stomach as he straightened his back and tried to stand up, stumbling a little as he grouched.

"Upset stomach."

Hu Lijing’s eyebrows raised, the concern that was pooled in the amber of his eyes immediately replaced by a subdued look of disdain as he let out a slight noise. "Your stomach has thrown a fit from just this much?" He asked, the cadence of his voice as condescending as the word could be.

Li Xinyuan stilled for a split second before his head snapped to look at Hu Lijing, a thunderous scowl decorating his face as he all but growled at the fox spirit.

"It might be easy for you to say, old man," he enunciated on the last two words and pointed a finger at himself and then at Hu Lijing in a rude manner.

"But have you so much as taken a single moment to consider that perhaps this man—" he jabbed a finger at himself "—might never have had the fortune of being dragged through a mystical gate that just so happens to facilitate inter-realm travelling?" He ranted, voice filled with righteous anger as he stabilised himself and stood in his full height, looking down at Hu Lijing. "Midget."

Hu Lijing regarded him with a squinted eyes look and then let out a scoff, begrudgingly crossed his arms on his chest, brushing off the insult as he scrunched his nose reluctantly.

"That... I may not have considered it." He coughed into his fist and mumbled out an apology.

Seeing his repentant attitude, the surgeon nodded in satisfaction and graciously accepted the mumbled apology, casually waving his hand in front of himself. "Don’t stress over it, I’m not that angry."

A caress of wind ghosted upon his skin, calling for the surgeon’s attention as he took a step forward and busied himself with looking around the island, golden eyes fleeting between the waves that seemed haunted and the flora that grew on the crimson painted canvas of floating land.

A strange and repugnant scent tickled against his nose, swirling invisibly as he took a sharp breath and promptly covered his nose with his arm, wide sleeve hanging against his chest as he frowned pensively before turning to look at Hu Lijing.

Li Xinyuan licked his lips behind the cover of his sleeve as he spoke, covering his nose in a — largely — futile attempt to block out the suffocating stench of blood that emanated from the island, having intertwined itself with the very root of the floating landmass.

"Lijing," he coughed, unable to bear the smell as he looked at Hu Lijing, thoroughly amazed at how — seemingly — effortlessly he was bearing the odour. "What is this place?"

Hu Lijing looked at his feet, twisting his heels into the red sand as he pursed his lips, hands clenched into tight fists as he opened and closed his mouth several times to answer but ended up saying not a single word.

Li Xinyuan watched his tightly clenched fist as he waited in silence, allowing Hu Lijing whatever amount of time he needed to put his thoughts in a proper order.

It was not easy. To be back to a place wherein all his misfortunes began, naturally it would be the farthest thing from easy for the nine-tailed fox spirit to spill out his coherent thoughts.

So, he waited patiently.

As seconds ticked up, Li Xinyuan’s gaze remained sharp, all of his senses were on high alert to be prepared for any unexpected arrival.

All of sudden, Hu Lijing went down on his knees, without a word he knelt on the scarlet sand and gathered a small fistful of it in his hand, raising it as he watched it slip through his fingers.

"This place..." In a distant and painfully melancholic manner, he spoke up, his deep voice carrying a haunted cadence to it. "Is where ZhenHai sacrificed himself for my sake. I believe—" his eyes dropped to the sand under him "—this red hue of the sand comes from his blood and from those he spilled in order to get me to safety."

Li Xinyuan felt a pang in his chest, for the first time he took a deep breath, allowing his lungs to become full of the scent of decay and death that came from the sacrifice of a desperate lover.

How vexing of an ordeal it was.