Chương 18: Slumbering Cherry Blossom — I

As the surgeon frowned at the Crown Prince, he looked down again, fiddling with his wide sleeves, debating whether to state his reason or keep it hidden.

Slowly, he reached inside his right sleeve and pulled out the novel, flipping through the pages to hide his dilemma as he contemplated in silence.

Li Xinyuan turned towards the lamp, back straight as he started reading a random passage from the novel to give himself some time to think.

After a short moment, the surgeon snapped the book shut and turned around, facing Liu Mingyun once more as he put the novel away.

"Your Highness," he began, carefully choosing his words. "I am from Jianghu. And I'm also a cultivator, as you know."

"Naturally," Liu Mingyun replied, cooperatively nodding as he kept his hands folded on his back.

Internally he couldn't help but wonder just what Li Xinyuan being a cultivator had anything to do with him not consuming food? At all.

"So well…"

Then it struck him, a flash of realisation passed through the Crown Prince's eyes as he spoke up, keeping his voice low. "Xinyuan is practising inedia."

Li Xinyuan blinked slowly. Ah, so Liu Mingyun figured it out. Of course, he did. He was the male lead, after all, and he wasn't just a Crown Prince but also a cultivator himself.

"Yes, Your Highness," with a smile, Li Xinyuan nodded, slightly. Looking away from him, the surgeon stared at his bed. "In this war, when the rations are depleting swiftly—" out of his sight, Liu Mingyun grimaced at that "—those of us who can sustain themselves without requiring too much food are abstaining from it so that the soldiers who need it more can have them."

Liu Mingyun slowly opened his mouth, as if to say something. Only to close to a second later, then he repeated the action a few times before finally giving up.

A moment of silence later, the Crown Prince made a face, bowing his head slightly as he spoke up, having gathered his thoughts.

"You are a doctor at the Northwest Frontier right now," he drawled, looking at the side of Li Xinyuan's face. "You work in the camp as much as our soldiers do on the battlefield. It's wrong to starve yourself, Specter of Blood Moon."

Li Xinyuan blinked a few times before slowly turning to look at him, his golden eyes colliding with Liu Mingyun's crimson ones again.

"Your Highness, to practise inedia was an individual decision of mine," he shook his head. "The other doctors are not doing the same."

Liu Mingyun shook his head, taking a step back towards the door as he spoke. "Regardless of what they do, Xinyuan shouldn't be practising inedia when you are the leading doctor here and shoulder most of the responsibilities. Practising inedia in this stressful situation may as well lead to deterioration in your health, am I wrong?"

Hearing this, Li Xinyuan fell silent.

"No. You're right, Your Highness." He pursed his lips, unwilling to accept defeat completely. "But I am not wrong either. The soldiers need food more than I do, I am a cultivator, I can bear starvation because I have trained in it since I was a child. And—" he cut himself off, biting his tongue as he did so. "—no, you're right Your Highness."

Liu Mingyun raised an eyebrow, canting his head slightly, he blinked. "What is it that you were about to say, Xinyuan?" He asked.

Li Xinyuan shook his head, determined to deny until his last breath. "Nothing, Your Highness."

"Do complete your sentence, Xinyuan." The Crown Prince smiled, amused as he looked at Li Xinyuan.

The stand-off continued, the two men stared at each other, neither saying a word nor blinking, unwilling to lose.

Seconds faded into minutes and minutes trickled away until finally, Li Xinyuan — eyes filled with tears — blinked.

Gritting his teeth, the surgeon bowed his head, gently rubbing his eyes as he sighed regretfully. He had never won a staring match anyway.

Liu Mingyun blinked after he did, crimson irises shining with mirth as he frowned. "Now, will Xinyuan tell This Prince? Curiosity is making him uncomfortable."

The surgeon looked up at him, pouting his lips subconsciously as he snorted, fussing with his sleeves as he mumbled something under his breath.

"Pardon?" Liu Mingyun prompted, shifting on his feet.

"This one said that Your Highness shouldn't be telling this lowly one to not do something he himself is." Li Xinyuan sighed, massaging his forehead, eyes closed. "This one noticed," he paused, lower lip catching between his teeth. "Your Highness the Crown Prince hasn't been eating food either."

"..." Liu Mingyun froze upon hearing his words, for a moment, he didn't know what to say. "How— no, when did Xinyuan find out?"

Li Xinyuan looked at him, meaningfully. "I notice a lot more than Your Highness thinks I do." He shook his head, letting his hands fall to his sides as he walked closer to Liu Mingyun, raising his head to look at the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, you need food more than anyone else." He murmured. "I can understand that Your Highness is powerful, his cultivation is higher than most of the people in Jianghu — I can sense it — but even for you, leading a war of this calibre, fighting alongside your men, is taxing Your Highness."

Saying so, Li Xinyuan raised his hand and reached towards Liu Mingyun's head, the latter watched him, dazed. Gently, the surgeon held a strand of Liu Mingyun's hair.

Amidst the Crown Prince's hair that was supposed be be pure silver in likeliness to the moonlight, was a single strand, pitch black in colour.

"Is this not the sign of Your Highness' slightly weakened state?" Li Xinyuan dared to ask, holding Liu Mingyun's gaze as he pulled his hand back and clenched it under his flowy sleeve, taking a step back as he did so.

As the surgeon stepped away from him, Liu Mingyun watched, a small frown marring his face as he pursed his lips gently.

"When did Xinyuan find out that I am a cultivator?" Finally, he asked, eyes searching for a hint on the surgeon's beautiful face.

Li Xinyuan looked up at him, long eyelashes fluttering as his lips flatened into a thin line.

"If I say that I realised the very first time I met you?" He replied, more a question than an answer. It a lie seamlessly interwoven with truth.

Yes, Li Xinyuan knew that Liu Mingyun was a cultivator long before they met, thanks to the novel. However the first time they met, came face to face with one another, Li Xinyuan realised the extent of his power.

While it was largely concealed, some of it still found a way to leak past the Crown Prince's defenses, bubbling under his skin as it coursed in his meridians. It was more a warning than a signal.

The warning to not cross him, if they dared to try and if they valued their lives.

The first time they met and sat together in Li Xinyuan's carriage, it left the surgeon breathless, his own dantian reeling at the unconscious display of power.

"I… See." Liu Mingyun drawled, watching Li Xinyuan's every move like a hawk. With a tilt of his head, he added. "I can trust Xinyuan to keep it a secret, right?"

It wasn't a question. It was an order wearing the hide of a seemingly harmless question.

"Of course, Your Highness," Li Xinyuan nodded, eyes half-lidded and his expression calm.

The Crown Prince's, even the Emperor's cultivation was meant to be a secret. Why? Because of a treaty signed between the royal family of DàHuǒ and the forces in Jianghu.

A treaty which mandated that the imperial family and its influence in the country remain seprate from the matters of Jianghu.

Yet, more often than not, most families in it tried to gain favour of influential families with ties to the politics and the court.

Or some just worked for the Emperor, either covertly or openly. The prime example of which were the leaders of Hao Clan and the Begger — who were trained by the Emperor and worked for him without anyone's knowledge — and Li Xinyuan's clan.

Which was also why both Li Xinyuan and Li Jinhua were deployed in the Northwestern and Southern Frontiers, respectively.

"I hope so," Liu Mingyun huffed, smiling slightly. Then he jerked his head towards the door and added. "I shall take my leave then, Xinyuan."

Li Xinyuan nodded, cupping his hands in front of him in a salute. "Have a good rest, Your Highness. And don't forget to consume food. If required, you can come to me for supplements." He added after a beat.

Liu Mingyun simply gave him a short nod and turned around to leave, soon disappearing in the eaves of the night's veil.