Chapter 162: Preening Black Dahlia — III
"We have painted a target on our backs." Li Xinyuan hummed unprompted, sitting in the carriage while Hu Lijing sat across from him.
Hu Lijing’s amber eyes flickered away from passing scenery out of the window and to the surgeon. He shifted, face expressionless as he squinted.
"Do you mean to say your back?" He pointed a slender finger at Li Xinyuan and stared down at Bai Huiqi whose head lay on the surgeon’s lap, fast asleep. "Do not include me with you."
The surgeon rolled his eyes, a soft scoff falling off his lips. "Yes, well, my back. It’s not as if you are travelling with me."
The sarcasm flowing in his voice and words was tangible enough to be cut in half. His lips were curled in a smile, eyes placid with mirth as he gently carded his fingers through Bai Huiqi’s hair.
The nine-tailed fox raised his chin, eyes unmoving from the slumbering younger fox spirit, oblivious to the gravity of the situation surrounding them.
"Is this some special privilege for him?"
Li Xinyuan looked away from outside the window and focused himself on Hu Lijing.
"Hm?"
"Why is he afforded his head on your lap?"
"... Are you jealous?’’
Hu Lijing paused, looked up from the sleeping younger spirit and made a sour expression. "Whatever is that to mean?"
"I mean," Li Xinyuan drawled, restraining a laugh in his chest at the man’s expression, "are you perhaps envious of Bai Huiqi’s comfort?"
Hu Lijing’s eyes twitched, exasperation curling in his chest at the teasing. "No." He deadpanned, looking away once more before adding. "I couldn’t help but wonder."
The surgeon let out an amused snort, smirking with a wry tilt of his head while he lazily observed the amber-haired fox spirit.
"... Is this a pitiful attempt at deflection from the pressing topic at hand instead?"
"Preposterous."
"Preposterous? Hardly."
Hu Lijing sighed deeply, hands on his knees and fingers drumming. "Very well. Yes, I cannot help but worry. We have indeed painted a rather conspicuous target on our backs." He turned away once more, lips pursed as he glanced down at the sleeping Bai Huiqi. "If it is merely a matter of warding off the JiangHu, I could easily do that. However..."
"... However, it is not simply a matter of fighting off, or just protecting me alone." Li Xinyuan finished the sentence the fox spirit had been too anxious to. "Now, it’s not just you and I, but Huiqi too."
Hu Lijing sighed once again, forcefully this time. His lips thinned as he tapped his foot to disperse the anxiety.
"Yes. Yes, it is."
The surgeon fell silent for a long moment. The void of silence was then filled by the sound of nature around them. After seemingly an eternity, he spoke once more, cadence comforting.
"Do not be so fretful, Lijing. This war will not begin for a while, and should the Cult’s enemies send killers at our tails, we can fend them off." Li Xinyuan smiled, but it was not without a strain.
He was not ignorant of the danger and — knowingly — brought it not only upon himself but also Hu Lijing and Bai Huiqi. He was aware a day as this one would come when he had agreed to willingly go with Cheon WuHui.
All of them had.
Thus, when the Heavenly Demon suggested they take one of his warriors with them, Li Xinyuan had declined knowing the repercussions that would bring.
While yes, most of the JiangHu knew his name, it was largely unaware of his face. Or just what sort of appearance he carried himself with — the moment any of the Orthodox or Unorthodox faction caught either wind, or worse, sight of a Cult member with him...
He would become their common enemy, regardless of why or how he helped the Cult.
That was why travelling with just whom he had come with was the best choice he could make.
For a moment, he wanted to apologize for making a choice with such an outcome. But when he turned to see the look on Hu Lijing’s face, then looked down at Bai Huiqi’s sleeping one –– he felt like he hadn’t made such a bad choice, after all.
Then, Li Xinyuan took a deep breath, the cold air rushed into his lungs akin to a wake-up call of optimism he needed.
"Anyhow, should push come to shove, we can always cut this journey short and retreat to the clan."
Hu Lijing just stared at him in silence that stretched too long, compelling him to look away.
"Then what? You are abandoning the idea of visiting the Namgung clan?"
Li Xinyuan’s face turned somewhat sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Something tells me we will not be so welcome there, Lijing."
"Whilst I doubt they would show hostility towards you — the sole nephew of the Divine Phoenix, the heir of Li Clan, and the intended of the nation’s Crown Prince — I cannot say with conviction either. The abyss of JiangHu is an unpredictable place."
Li Xinyuan pursed his lips. Of course, Hu Lijing’s doubt was hardly unfounded. But he had concerns of his own.
Imperceptibly, his golden eyes flicked towards the glitched holographic system screen flickering in and out of sight in front of him. This was new. This was a cause of worry.
This filled him with dread.
Was the system glitching? Why was it glitching? Had he interfered too much? Was his interference, ergo the deviation in the original storyline the cause of this?
None of the conjectures were far-fetched. Rather, they seemed too close to whatever truth was clouded behind the fog of ignorance.
Li Xinyuan gnawed at his lips, worry increasing several folds as he watched the corrupted screen intently.
What could have happened?
Could it be that the world’s consciousness was—?
His breath hitched, the train of thought screeching to a halt.
If... If the consciousness of this world was truly fighting back against him, Li Xinyuan would be dead sooner than later.
Unless a force greater than the consciousness intervened. Unless—
—Unless Liu Mingyun reminded the world who its axis was.