Budding Anemone — I

Exactly three days after Li Jinhua departed from the Divine Phoenix Hospital, Li Xinyuan took charge and laid everything out for the council of elders — doctors — of the clan so that things would not fall into disarray in his and the Divine Phoenix's absence.

The next day, came the time for his own journey to the Northwestern frontier.

"Are you sure about this, Master?" For the nth time that day, Hu Lijing asked whilst helping Li Xinyuan climb into his carriage.

"Why, Hu Lijing, is that you ask so many questions?" Li Xinyuan mused aloud. "Are my words or my progress in martial arts not reassuring enough for you?"

Hu Lijing barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, I commend your resilience, Master. But I must warn you, the world of Jianghu is not one of sunshine and rainbows. Those who choose to tread on its path oftentimes discover that it has nothing but thorns and gravel for the weak."

Li Xinyuan nodded, listening to his words from one ear and discarding them from the other as he rested his chin on the heel of his palm while watching the scenery outside pass by.

Seeing that Li Xinyuan had no intentions of listening to him, Hu Lijing stopped talking and stood up, under the surgeon's watchful eyes, he jumped out of the window and landed on the roof of the carriage.

His entire set of actions was smooth and graceful. Not that Li Xinyuan expected anything less than that from the male.

From a person like him, this much was to be expected.

With the male gone from the carriage, Li Xinyuan leaned back on his seat and tried to relax.

His transmigration was… lacklustre for the lack of better words. Other people who transmigrate get a system of some sort to guide them throughout the plot. But Li Xinyuan?

Forget about the system, the poor man didn't even get any sort of 'future memories' or better called as 'preordained fate' of his character.

Which directly translated to one thing:

Li Xinyuan had neither the head nor the tail of the plot of this novel. This also meant that with nothing to lead the way, the surgeon could only blindly grasp around in the dark in hopes for something.

Anything, really.

This was one of the worst situations he could ever find himself in. Stranded inside a book with no idea of the plot whatsoever. The doctor could hence only rely on his guts to lead his way.

Paddling through this sea of transmigrated life made him feel like he was drowning, the water sometimes flowed above his head, sometimes barely below it.

The only solace for him was the familiar unfamiliarity of his occupation.

And to some extent his only living relative, his Auntie.

Minutes turned to hours as Li Xinyuan sat in his carriage, leading an entire entourage of doctors and apprentice doctors.

Their only guards? Hu Lijing and Li Xinyuan himself.

With the amount of sitting he was doing today, his ass was starting to feel numb. Thus, with the intention of joining his 'servant' on top of the carriage, Li Xinyuan deftly hopped out of it and landed himself on the roof, just beside Hu Lijing.

The man didn't so much as acknowledge his arrival as he played around with a ball of fire floating on his palm. Nonchalantly, Li Xinyuan joined him as he flicked his flowy sleeves and sat down, elegantly.

Hu Lijing gave him a sidelong glance before continuing to amuse himself with his fire. Li Xinyuan didn't mind his disregard for himself, the surgeon didn't want to converse with him in the first place.

All he wanted was a simple company to anchor him out of his musings once in a while.

As he sat down, Li Xinyuan couldn't help but frown, his nose scrunched up as a cute disgruntled expression took over his 'out of the world' beautiful face.

Golden eyes shone with begrudging displeasure as the surgeon stood up, long wavy black hair swayed with the wind as he pursed his lips.

The sudden movement roused Hu Lijing from his own thoughts as he turned his head and looked up at his master.

"Is something the matter?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as his amber eyes watched Li Xinyuan.

Barely resisting the urge to make a face, the surgeon cleared his throat and shook his head. "Nothing, you can continue."

Then, as if to prove his point, he walked to the back and pushed his hands into either sleeve of his splendid robes and stared at the carriages following his own.

Hu Lijing raised an eyebrow and glanced at Li Xinyuan's behind with a knowing look before shrugging his shoulder and turning his head to stare at the road ahead.

In truth, Li Xinyuan shuffled on his feet, luscious locks caressing his face. His ass was starting to tingle from sitting down too much.

Damn it, when will they reach Zhejiang? He wanted nothing more than to take a walk at this point.

Ancient mode of transportation — never mind fantasy or otherwise — was tedious!

"Hu Lijing," after a while, the surgeon called out to his servant.

In an instant, the man appeared by his side. "Yes, Master?"

"Tell me something about Zhejiang... Hangzhou, actually. Something interesting."

Hu Lijing raised an eyebrow. "Interesting?"

"Yes," Li Xinyuan nodded in affirmative as he glanced at a book he had pulled out of his sleeve.

"..."

A long moment of silence later, Li Xinyuan blinked, slowly turning to look at the male with an incredulous look in his eyes, he asked. "You don't know anything?"

Hu Lijing dodged his gaze and made a face. "Truthfully, Master, it's been ages since I last left your side, at all. How would I know unnecessary gossip about the world when they do not benefit me in any way to protect you?"

Li Xinyuan rolled his eyes. Excuses.

"I do not know? Network?"

"Do I look like someone who has a wide network?"

"... No," Li Xinyuan gave him a once over. "I'm talking about our clan's network."

"I stopped paying attention a long time ago."

Li Xinyuan snorted, thumbing the corner of a page, and said nothing.

"Would you like me to investigate for you?" Hu Lijing asked, pursing his lips.

Li Xinyuan glanced at him. "Not necessarily."

All he wanted to know was if he didn't have a system, so perhaps like other transmigration stories, he might be able to obtain information about the plot via some sort of coincidence like—

—A shaman with an ability to see the future?

—Or a piece of jewellery with some sort of golden finger.

But maybe it wasn't the case, after all.

Li Xinyuan heaved a sigh, the sound of it rang crisply in Hu Lijing's ears. As if the surgeon was indirectly calling him incompetent.

"I'll go investigate in Hangzhou," he said, abruptly. Startling the surgeon.

"O… Very well," the surgeon nodded, shortly. "Make sure to look around in shops or auction houses, if you find something interesting then we'll go there once I reach— and he's gone, this bastard."

Li Xinyuan shook his head, almost fondly.

Hu Lijing and his qinggong.